Tesla is the talk of the town today, with their shares soaring 12% in post-market trading in New York. The EV maker reported its biggest quarterly profit in more than a year and issued upbeat forecasts for 2025. Elon Musk used the earnings call for his only publicly traded company to discuss what he might do if given a potential role in a Trump administration, should the former president return to the White House. While Musk didn’t mention Trump by name, he referenced a “department of government efficiency” role that the Republican presidential candidate has been floating for Musk after the CEO directed more than $75 million to his campaign. Musk stated that, if appointed, he would create a streamlined pathway for federal approval of autonomous vehicles, replacing the current patchwork of state regulations.
In other markets, the yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.22%, yet the dollar still seems to be the currency of choice for investors. EUR/USD opens with a 1.07 handle today. Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $67,329.88, Ether rose 1.5% to $2,550.5, West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $71.62 a barrel, and spot gold rose 0.4% to $2,727.07 an ounce. With less than two weeks until the U.S. election, the contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is extremely close, with the candidates statistically tied among likely voters in each of the seven swing states. This will undoubtedly be the main event in the coming weeks.
As for today's data, we have U.S. new home sales, jobless claims, and S&P Global Manufacturing and Services PMI, along with earnings from UPS and Barclays. The Fed’s Beth Hammack speaks later today. Have a good day!
