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SPACE RACE MOVES FROM TRADING FLOORS TO MOVIE THEATERS

In Earth's stock markets and on movie screens, Friday was a big day for space.

On the trading side, Elon Musk's SpaceX SPCX.O made its initial public offering (IPO) with the shares last trading near $175, which is more than 29% above its $135 pricing. The rocket and satellite maker shattered records in its debut, eclipsing Saudi Aramco's 2019 listing by a wide margin to become the largest IPO ever.

But while SpaceX shares soared, shares in other space-related companies lost altitude with the Roundhill Space and Technology ETF MARS.K sliding more than 5%. Intuitive Machines LUNR.O fell more than 10% and Virgin Galactic SPCE.N sank 28% to $4.11.

Wall Street has been viewing the outcome of the hotly anticipated debut as hugely important for investor confidence, especially as it's also awaiting the IPOs of artificial intelligence juggernauts Anthropic and OpenAI. And with markets volatile in previous days, some have speculated that investors have been taking profits in other momentum stocks in order to set aside cash to invest in SpaceX. "To some extent you could say that SpaceX is taking some of the oxygen out of the room," said Northlight Asset Management's CIO Chris Zaccarelli on Friday.

But after lining up for the IPO, the next queue for some investors will be at the movie theater for Friday's other big space event - the opening of the latest movie directed by Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day. The movie was made by NBCUniversal's Universal Pictures, owned by Comcast CMCSA.O, whose shares were up 1.9% on Friday.

The UFO-themed sci-fi film is projected to take in $40 million to $50 million domestically and lead the box office in its opening weekend, according to Michael Hickey, analyst at Benchmark Research.

Such a haul would be no mean feat given the weekend's other entertainment options include the NBA Finals, with the New York Knicks facing off against the San Antonio Spurs, and the first weekend of FIFA's World Cup, which involves 48 countries battling it out on soccer pitches in three host countries - Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Still, Hickey points to a positive early reception with an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score. And he notes that Spielberg's historical success in alien-focused films will likely drive strong attendance among moviegoers who are old enough to remember E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977.

But the analyst said in a research note that one key question is "whether positive word-of-mouth can expand audience reach beyond the 35+ demographic."

(Sinéad Carew)

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A LISTING: SPACEX SOARS IN NASDAQ DEBUT CLICK HERE

FROM MORIBUND TO MERELY MOROSE: JUNE CONSUMER SENTIMENT BOUNCES IN THE BASEMENT CLICK HERE

SPACEX IPO: BUY THE FUTURE OR WAIT FOR THE PULLBACK? CLICK HERE

BULLS DEFEND 50-DMA AS NASDAQ EYES RECOVERY CLICK HERE

ONE DAY, TWO VOTES CLICK HERE

ECB: DON’T BELIEVE THE HIKES? CLICK HERE

WORLD CUP-ONOMICS CLICK HERE

TEXTBOOK BEHAVIOUR CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: HIGHER ON THE LATEST PEACE HOPES CLICK HERE

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL, ESPECIALLY FOR MARKETS CLICK HERE