US equity benchmarks hit record highs on Wednesday after Republic Donald Trump secured his second presidency.
At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3%.
It surged more than 1,200 points on Wednesday to hit a lifetime high.
The last time the average rose 1,000 points was in November 2022.
The S&P 500 index also rose to a record high on Wednesday and was up nearly 2% at the time of writing.
The Nasdaq Composite was higher by 1.8% and also jumped to its record high.
NBC News projects that Trump will defeat his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, after winning 276 Electoral College votes, including key swing states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Investments and businesses seen to benefit from a Trump win surged on Wednesday with Tesla and Trump Media & Technology among the best performers.
Banking stocks were also sharply higher as Trump is all set to take oath as US president for the second time.
Meanwhile, commodities from oil to gold and wheat to soybeans, slumped on Wednesday as the dollar jumped after Trump’s potential victory.
A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for overseas buyers, limiting demand across markets.
Industrial metals took the biggest hit with copper, iron ore and zinc taking a beating as a Trump win is seen as negative for the base metal complex. Trump is expected to impose tough sanctions on Chinese exports, the biggest producer of base metals.
Mark Mobius, Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund chairman, told CNBC:
It looks like a Trump presidential win but also a win for Republicans in House and Senate. If that happens, you’re going to see the U.S. economy really taking off.
Trump Media, credit card, and bank stocks surge
Shares of Trump Media, which is majority owned by Trump himself, were up 50% on Wednesday.
Additionally, banking stocks also rose sharply on Wednesday. Shares of Bank of America and Wells Fargo rose 6% each as investors assessed that Trump’s win would mean fewer regulations for the banking sector.
The stock of JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup rose 7% and 6% respectively on Wednesday.
Regional banks, including the SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF, climbed 8%, while Regions Financial and Huntington Bancshares rose 8% and 7% respectively.
Two leading credit card companies were the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 index on Wednesday, according to a report by CNBC.
Shares of Discover Financial soared 22%, while those of Capital One surged 17% after the results of US elections were out.
Financial stocks are largely higher on Wednesday as investors believe that a second presidency for Trump would be beneficial for the sector.
Meanwhile, stocks of discount variety stores in the US such as Five Below and Dollar Tree slumped on Wednesday. Shares of Dollar Tree slipped nearly 2%, while those of Five Below plunged 9%.
Trump is likely to increase tariffs on all imports and impose a 60% tariff on imports from China. This could cause prices to skyrocket, according to the National Retail Federation in the country.
Solar stocks slip
Stocks of solar companies fell sharply on Wednesday as Trump is not seen as a president who would support clean energy in favor of fossil fuels.
The Invesco Solar ETF shed 7%, while Sunnova lost 15%.
Shares of Sunrun also plunged 13% after Trump’s win today.
Trump is expected to roll back many of the climate regulations, which were passed under President Joe Biden’s administration.
Trump is also in favor of more drilling for oil and gas on US federal lands, which would increase production sharply.
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