Wall Street’s top indexes hit record highs following Donald Trump's presidential win. The Dow performed the strongest, posting a daily gain of over 1,000 points for the first time in two years.
Why it’s happening: The markets typically jump immediately after elections, but the response was extra strong thanks to quick results for a contest that was expected to be closer and have ballot counting drag on longer. The markets loved the fact there was no prolonged uncertainty.
Zoom out: The biggest winner though, was bitcoin. Cryptocurrency emerged as a force in U.S. politics this year, with the industry accounting for almost half of all corporate donations putting money behind pro-crypto candidates (including Trump) on both sides of the aisle.
- Bitcoin soared on Trump’s win. He was viewed as the crypto candidate, embracing bitcoin and promising to axe the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, crypto’s public enemy #1.
Bottom line: Some investors feel that having Republicans in charge is better for businesses as they bring with them a looser regulatory environment. But, historically speaking, who’s in office doesn’t really affect the markets — they’re gonna do their own thing regardless.—QH