North America

Equity markets awoke on Wednesday morning to an inconclusive US presidential election where there is no clear winner between US president Donald Trump and his challenger, former vice president Joe Biden. Equity capital markets are likely to remain shut for at least the next few days as they wait to find out who has won especially as vitriol between the candidates increases.

Ozon, the Russian e-commerce company, has filed its initial paperwork for a US listing that could be squeezed in before the end of the year.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group is set to raise HK$10.1bn ($1.3bn) as it guides investors toward final pricing for its secondary offering in Hong Kong.

Bond markets in Latin America were quiet on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s US election. But the Mexican peso, and bonds issued by state-owned oil giant Pemex, could be most vulnerable to a surprise or uncertain result given they are two of the most liquid assets in EM.

Ping An Insurance-backed Lufax Holdings is expected to price its American depositary shares at the top of guidance, following a large turnout from global heavyweight investors for its IPO.

Total Play Telecomunicaciones’ failure to appear in primary markets this week was less surprising to bond bankers than the fact that the Mexican telco had planned to sell a debut deal the week before the US elections, as equity volatility in that country made for a weaker tone in Latin American credit markets.

Boeing faced down turbulence on Thursday with a $4.9bn bond issue, after markets reacted to a spike in Covid-19 cases days ahead of the US presidential election.

Capital markets players have a variety of stances on the forthcoming US presidential election. A survey by UBS this week found 51% of wealthy US investors wanted Joe Biden to win, while 55% of business owners favoured Donald Trump.

The US presidential election is next week but, unlike the rest of the world, capital markets professionals are not rooting for Joe Biden or the incumbent, Donald Trump, to win. Instead, they just want a clear result that will spur issuance for the rest of the year. Sam Kerr, Mike Turner, Lewis McLellan, Mariam Meskin, Frank Jackman and Aidan Gregory report.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group, one of China’s largest private education companies, has kicked off bookbuilding for a Hong Kong secondary listing worth around $1.4bn.

Chinese data centre operator GDS Holdings has pocketed HK$12.9bn ($1.67bn) from its secondary offering on Hong Kong’s stock exchange.

An ESG think tank believes that the European Central Bank should drop Alberta’s euro bonds from its list of eligible marketable assets, as a punishment for its support for polluting industries. But while it is a laudable aim, it is not practicable.