Wall Street Today | Musk throws fresh shade at Rivian a day after its big IPO

Asian stocks looked set to climb Friday, bolstered by improving sentiment toward Chinese shares. Treasury futures suggested higher yields when cash trading resumes after a holiday.

Elon Musk doesn't exactly sound optimistic about the prospects of Rivian, even after the rival electric-vehicle maker's blockbuster IP0.

Tesla's chief executive officer said he hopes Rivian can boost production rates and get cash flow to break-even. But in a tweet Thursday he also noted that of hundreds of startups, "Tesla is the only American carmaker to reach high volume production & positive cash flow in past 100 years."

Elon Musk sells around $5 billion of Tesla stock
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold nearly $5 billion in Tesla stocks, according to financial filings on Wednesday evening. He still holds more than 166 million shares. Filings showed Musk is selling a block of Tesla shares via a plan that he set in motion on Sept. 14 this year.

Before that sale plan was made public, he asked his 62.5 million Twitter followers to vote in an informal poll, telling them their vote would determine the future of his Tesla holdings. The filings reveal that, in fact, he knew some of his shares were slated for sale this week.

U.S.-listed Chinese stocks soar after record singles' day sales

Shares of Chinese companies listed in the U.S. rallied Thursday amid investor optimism after blowout Singles' Day sales.

Global consumer spending on personal luxury goods, including the latest sneaker trend or design collaboration, is forecast to spike by 29% this year, to 283 billion euros ($325 billion). That's a return to 2019 levels and a turnaround from the gloom of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns that shuttered stores and halted international travel.

Consumers have shifted spending to high-quality furnishings, as many have been spending time at home instead of globe-trotting.

Disney has pricing power unlike most other firms, but it can't escape inflation in the short term as capital spending increases and margins come under pressure.

Its trading volume of $843,000 on day one comes as short interest in ARKK has shot up to a new record of 17.3 per cent of its shares, with a market value of $3.7bn, currently being borrowed by investors betting on a sell-off, according to S3 Partners, a specialist data provider. This is up from just 2 per cent at the turn of the year and 15.3 per cent a month ago.