Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, October 1:
1. Tesla’s Musk Makes a Deal with the SEC
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) executive Elon Musk reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Saturday that allows Musk to remain as CEO, but he will have to resign as chairman for three years.
Shares in luxury car maker Tesla surged 15.61% in premarket trading.
The deal was made after the SEC sued Musk for securities fraud for a tweet he sent in August that he was taking Tesla private and had “funding secured.” The SEC said those claims were false and misleading.
Both Musk and Tesla will also have to pay a $20 million fine.
2. The U.S. and Canada Reach a Trade Deal
The U.S. and Canada reached a trade deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement on Sunday night, just hours before the deadline.
The deal was renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and will give the U.S. access to Canadian dairy market and will cap Canada's auto exports to the U.S.
The loonie hit a four-month high after the announcement, increasing 0.7% to $1.2814.
U.S. President Donald Trump had given Canada until the end of September to make a deal or face being left out of the new trade agreement. The U.S. already made a deal with Mexico, the third NAFTA member, earlier in the month.
3. U.S. Futures Surge on Trade Deal News
U.S. futures pointed to a higher opening bell on Wall Street, as investors were optimistic following news of a U.S.-Canadian trade deal.
The S&P 500 futures rose 0.59% while Dow futures gained 0.76% and tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 0.79%.
Meanwhile in Asia, China and Hong Kong indexes were closed for a national holiday. In Japan, the TOPIX closed 0.04% higher and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.55%.
Trading in Europe was higher but remained cautious after Italy's government announced a budget deficit that defied Brussels. The European Commission is expected to reject Italy’s budget plans.
4. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Reports Major Data Breach
Facebook is likely to be under pressure in trading on Monday after it announced a major security breach on Friday.
The social media company said that an unknown number of hackers obtained access to the logins for as many as 50 million accounts. The breach follows the controversial Cambridge Analytica scandal and allegations that Russia used the platform to influence U.S. elections.
The company could be fined up to $1.63 billion by the European privacy regulator, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC).
Shares of Facebook fell 0.89% to $163.00 in premaket trading after closing at $164.46 on Friday.
5. Oil Rises Ahead of U.S. Sanctions Against Iran
Crude oil was higher on Monday, as U.S. sanctions against Iran go into effect this week.
The sanctions, which are aimed at Iran’s oil sector, continued to increase prices as traders worry about decreased supply. The U.S. has said it will not increase supply to offset the decrease in production.
Meanwhile OPEC and Russia indicated there would be no immediate increase in production at a meeting in Algiers last week.
West Texas Crude oil futures for November rose 0.23% to $73.42 a barrel. Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., increased 0.56% to a four-year-high of $83.19.