The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up up 1,500 points to its record high on Wednesday after Donald Trump won a second presidential term.
The Dow closed at 43,729.93, or 3.57 percent higher, after trading Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite also rose about 2.9 percent, and the S&P 500 moved up around 2.5 points.
Aside from markets, the 10-year Treasury note rose 13 basis points to 4.43 points, the dollar surged, and Bitcoin rallied to a record high. The price of gold, however, dropped 3 percent after reaching record highs in recent days.
At the same time, the volatility index, known as the “fear gauge,” was down more than 20 points on Wednesday, another good sign for the markets.
“Investors were kind of portfolio jockeying to score up some of their risk exposure in anticipation of an outcome that was going into it, seemingly a toss-up,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
But he added, “And obviously, it turned very quickly and led to a very much risk-on day today in which anything that isn’t tied to the ground from a cyclical or pro-growth standpoint is absolutely launching.”
Trump’s promises during the campaign to increase tariffs, cut taxes, and slash federal regulations appeared to encourage investors to plunge into a range of assets that might benefit from his policies.
“Everywhere you look, there’s the thumb prints of these election results for markets,” said Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
A day before Tuesday’s presidential election, the major stock indexes had slipped amid uncertainty around the contest, between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Polls had shown a relatively close race, although Trump is now predicted to win the electoral college and popular vote.
The Federal Reserve is also widely expected to ease the benchmark interest rate on Thursday during its policy meeting. It’s not clear by how much, however.
“We now expect just one Fed cut in 2025, with policy on hold until the realized inflation shock from tariffs has passed,” economists at Nomura said in a note Tuesday.
The markets closed Wednesday as Harris delivered a concession speech to a gathering of her supporters, acknowledging that Trump won the contest.
“Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory,” Harris said at Howard University, in Washington, D.C. It was the first time she appeared on camera since The Associated Press and other outlets called the race for Trump earlier Wednesday.
What Trump Has Proposed
Trump has said he wants to extend all of his 2017 tax cuts that are scheduled to expire after 2025, although he has said he wants more tax breaks such as exempting Social Security retirement payments from taxation, taxes on tips, and taxes on overtime pay.To offset the tax cuts, Trump has floated adding more tariffs on certain products in a bid to move manufacturing and facilities back to the United States. He also has said he wants to curtail illegal immigration and initiate a plan to mass deport illegal immigrants, which he said will lower inflation.
The president-elect will need the help of Congress to implement his economic agenda. Republicans are due to regain control of the Senate, and AP and other forecasters also predicted the GOP will retain the House of Representatives.
