North America

Spreads on Latin American bonds tightened sharply during US election vote counts on Wednesday in a promising — if only preliminary — sign for potential issuance conditions after the result is declared.

China’s decision to clamp down on Ant Group has derailed an IPO of at least $34bn, despite execution being finished last week. The move appears to be little more than political muscle-flexing by Beijing. The real winners will be the country’s critics.

Global equity markets have reversed earlier losses after former US vice-president Joe Biden gained momentum in the presidential race on Wednesday afternoon, giving capital markets bankers hope that a decisive result this week might be possible.

Convertible bond investors are preparing for elevated levels of volatility in the wake of the extremely close US election results, but many are waiting for more results in key states before taking a view on the direction of the market.

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.