US Treasury yields jump and Bitcoin hits record as Trump wins election
US Treasury yields jumped and Bitcoin surged to a new record as markets reacted to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Republicans have taken back control of the Senate, while Trump is due to return to the White House after winning the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania.
Trump declared victory in a speech in Florida after having earlier won the key swing states of North Carolina and Georgia. The win was officially called by media outlets later in the morning.
Walking up to the stage at 2.25am local time to a raucous ovation as God Bless The USA by Lee Greenwood was played, the former president told the crowd: “This is a movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and frankly this was I believe the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond.
Nvidia dethrones Apple as world’s most valuable company
Nvidia has toppled Apple as the world’s most valuable company after Apple signalled to investors that it may never match the profitability of its flagship iPhone in future products.
Chip designer Nvidia hit a market capitalisation of $3.43t (£2.66t) at close yesterday after the stock rose nearly three per cent, nudging Apple’s $3.38t (£2.62t) into second place. Microsoft sits in third place with a market cap of £3.06t (£2.37t).
Nvidia’s rally this year has been fuelled by insatiable demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs), which are necessary for powering AI across sectors, from tech giants to healthcare.
The stock is also up in pre-market trading on the news that Donald Trump has clinched the US presidency.
FTSE 100 surges as Trump presidency boosts US-focused firms
The FTSE 100 surged at the open today, and sterling crashed as traders digested how Donald Trump’s presidency will impact the global economy and the UK.
London’s flagship index was trading up over 1.4 per cent in early trading, pushed higher by a near six per cent jump for the US-focused construction equipment rental firm Ashtead and sharp rises for Barclays and IHG.
Ashtead, which makes some 85 per cent of its revenue in the US and has reportedly considered swapping its listing to New York in the past, is likely to benefit from a Trump-led construction drive.
“Trump did not mention tariffs in his victory speech, and this is why we are seeing UK firms with US exposure rallying on Wednesday,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “A win for Trump is also seen as being good for the US economy, which is also boosting big UK companies who export to the US.”