Markets were slow to gain traction in either direction early today, according to the Associated Press, a day after a surging technology sector boosted Wall Street to another record finish. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were essentially unchanged before the bell.
In equities trading, Tesla shares slipped less than 1% after a Delaware judge late Monday reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The proposed compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla’s stock price.
U.S. Steel shares tumbled more than 8% after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker.
Nippon Steel announced last December that it planned to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains, and U.S. national security.
In energy trading early today, benchmark U.S. crude gained 93 cents to $69.03 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 92 cents to $72.75 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.85 Japanese yen from 149.59 yen.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% from the previous session’s all-time high to post a record for the 54th time this year.
