rnance (ESG) rating – its lowest – around the time the firm filed for a reported $75 billion IPO. Separately, Robinhood, a US trading app, said it plans to raise $2 billion through convertible senior notes due 2029, a type of bond that can later turn into stock, which often worries shareholders about future dilution. Traders were also watching remarks from Fed Governor Christopher Waller for clues on where interest rates go next, while oil and gold drifted lower.
Why should I care?
For markets: MSCI’s triple-C rating could raise the bar for SpaceX’s reported $75 billion IPO.
MSCI’s label isn’t just a PR problem: many big pension funds and asset managers can only buy companies that clear internal ESG rules. If SpaceX fails enough of those screens, some large pools of “mandate” money may be unable to take IPO allocations, leaving the order book more reliant on buyers who demand a better price. That can mean underwriters need a bigger valuation discount, or extra investor-friendly terms, to get the deal over the line. The same dynamic can spill over to other would-be issuers that depend on ESG-screened institutions for early support in the stock once it starts trading.