In response to the historic re-election of Donald Trump, Wednesday, shares turbo-charged on Wall Street and the dollar posted its biggest gain in eight years.
In the tension-soaked election, former President Donald Trump ran a bitter campaign against incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, nominee of the Democratic Party, who hinged her campaign on reproductive rights of women, better life for the middle class, and unifying the country, moving the US from the politics of hate and racism perpetrated by the former President since he became the nominee of the Republican Party.
Though the two candidates ran neck-and-neck till election day, it was Trump that triumphed, scoring 279 electoral votes against Harris’ 223.
World leaders have been responding in diverse ways, congratulating Trump, with analysts giving different perspectives to the outcome of the 2024 American election.
On the business side, the values of the dollar, Bitcoin, shares on Wall Street, as well as stocks in major world exchanges skyrocketed, Wednesday, responding to the historic feat by Donald Trump who will be America’s 47th President, and the second former President in American history to make a dramatic come-back to power.
According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, Bitcoin hit an all-time high, sequel to Trump’s election promise to make the United States the “bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world”.
Higher rates for longer mean investors will get better returns on savings and investments they hold in dollars.
Markets and currencies around the world have shifted sharply following the US election news:
The dollar is up by about 1.75% against a host of different currencies, including the pound, euro and the Japanese yen
The major US stock indexes soared as trading opened, with banks performing particularly well
The pound sank 1.41% against the US dollar to its lowest level since August
The FTSE 100 index, comprising the largest companies listed in the UK, was up 0.1% on Wednesday afternoon
The euro dived 2.24% against the US dollar to its lowest level since June
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index ended the session up by 2.6%, while Australia’s ASX 200 closed 0.8% higher
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.1% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by around 2.23%
Why is Bitcoin going up?
The value of Bitcoin jumped by $6,000 (£4,645) to an all-time high of $75,371.69.
Trump’s stance on crypto stands in stark contrast with that of the Biden administration, which has led a sweeping crackdown on crypto firms.
During the election campaign, Trump had suggested that he could fire Gary Gensler, the chair of US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has taken legal action against several crypto firms.
Trump also said he plans to put billionaire Elon Musk in charge of an audit of governmental waste.
Mr Musk has long been a proponent of cryptocurrencies and his company Tesla famously invested $1.5bn in Bitcoin in 2021, although the price of the digital currency can be very volatile.
Tesla’s Frankfurt-listed shares rallied over 14% at the open on Wednesday. Mr Musk, Tesla’s top shareholder, has supported Trump throughout his electoral campaign.