2. Huawei strikes back: Chinese tech giant Huawei announced it is suing the US government in its most aggressive move yet to fight back against accusations that its technology poses a global security threat.
The fight between the company and the US government is becoming more and more complex. US prosecutors have filed criminal charges against Huawei in Washington state and New York. Huawei pleaded not guilty in Seattle last week to charges that it tried to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile (TMUS).
Investors have been preoccupied with the trade fight all week, though the immediate market reaction was mixed.
Having started the day in positive territory, Japan’s Nikkei Index closed down about 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 0.8%.
European markets opened higher, with Britain’s FTSE index up 0.7%, while US stock futures point lower. The S&P 500 is set to open down nearly 0.2%. The Nasdaq and Dow are poised to drop 0.1%.
All eyes will be on Washington as day two of trade talks with Beijing unfolds, and investors try to determine the path forward.
The first day of discussions did little to settle markets. The Dow closed down 0.5% on Thursday. The S&P 500 shed 0.3%, and the Nasdaq declined 0.4%.
3. ECB watch: The European Central Bank will announce its latest policy decision on Thursday, and bank chief Mario Draghi will hold a press conference at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The company will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange Friday with the ticker UBER.
The company priced its initial public offering at $45 a share on Thursday. That’s at the low end of its original proposed price range of between $44 and $50 a share.
Still, the company will raise $8.1 billion and will rank among the largest US public offerings ever.
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4. Companies: UK food delivery company Deliveroo said Friday that it raised $575 million in a new round of funding led by Amazon (AMZN). It’s another big move into food from the internet retailer, and expands Amazon (AMZN)’s global reach.
7. Earnings bonanza: 3M (MMM), Bristol-Myers (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), Hershey Foods (HSY), Hess (HES), Raytheon (RTN), Southwest Air (LUV), UPS (UPS) and Xerox (XRX) will release earnings before the open.
The Asia unit of brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) filed an application on Friday to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange as it prepares for an IPO later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company is said to be targeting a valuation of $70 billion.
US consumer inflation data for April will post at 8:30 a.m. ET.
8. Coming this week:
Thursday — Amazon and Starbucks
(SBUX) earnings
Friday — US first-quarter GDP; April US consumer sentiment
