US stocks soar to record highs, Dow up nearly 1,500 points, on decisive Trump victory

Markets soared on Wednesday as anxieties around a potential contested election outcome and days of uncertainty were dispelled by Donald Trump’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris. All three major US indexes notched new intraday record highs, rising at least 2%.

US stocks rocketed higher after Trump became the first president in over a century to win a second term after losing a prior reelection. Assets associated with the so-called Trump Trade rallied as investors readied for a shift in the economic and regulatory climate.

Here’s where US indexes stood as of 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 5,920.56, up 2.4%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 43,678.41, up 3.5% (1,456 points)

• Nasdaq composite: 18,940.49, up 2.7%

Bank stocks, which are expected to benefit under looser regulation in a second Trump term, climbed higher. The SPDR S&P Bank exchange-traded fund, which tracks banks across various sub-industries, climbed 11%.

Trump Media and Technology Group shares, which have been on roller coaster in the weeks leading up to the election, rose more than 30% before paring gains.

Tesla stock shot up as much as 15% after CEO Elon Musk was among Trump’s most vocal backers during the campaign and has been tipped as a potential member of the cabinet overseeing government efficiency

Bitcoin hit a record high above $75,000 before paring its gains to around $74,000. Other crypto trading-related stocks, like Coinbase and Robinhood, were up as much as 12%.

Trump styled himself as the “crypto president” while campaigning, with markets hopeful that his administration would lower guardrails and take a lighter approach to regulating the space compared to President Joe Biden’s administration. voiced support for during his campaign

Bond yields surged, a sign markets are anticipating higher inflation and higher interest rates as a reult of Trump’s policies. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury climbed 18 basis points to 4.477%, the highest level since July.

Investors could be looking into a volatile few trading days, though most forecasters expect big post-election swings to eventually fizzle.

“One of our core beliefs about elections and markets is that the latter must endure some temporary repricing around this event every few years, but that these dislocations have tended to be temporary in nature,” Paul Christopher, Wells Fargo’s head of global investment strategy, wrote in a note.

Here’s what else is going on:

• A Trump win could prompt the Fed to hit pause on its rate cutting cycle, according to JPMorgan’s strategy chief.

• The US dollar may be the most important asset to watch after the election results.

• Here’s how your wallet could be impacted by the results of the election.

• The S&P 500 could surge 5% by year-end before fresh uncertainty sparks a pullback in 2025, according to Morgan Stanley’s CIO.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.58% to $70.13 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 2.52% to $73.63 a barrel.

• Gold slumped 2.88% to $2,664.83 an ounce.

• The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 18 basis points to 4.477%.

• Bitcoin jumped 7.15% to $73,807.