Wall Street surges but other stock markets more cautious on Trump win

Markets across the globe reacted in different ways to the election of Donald Trump. In the United States, shares in Tesla jumped as much as 15 per cent on Wednesday. However, shares in German carmakers ain BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen all fell across the day.
The Iseq dropped 1.67 per cent on Wednesday. Food group Glanbia fell 7.18 per cent to €14.35 a share. Kerry Group was down 3.36 per cent to €90.70. The Irish banks also lost ground on Wednesday with Bank of Ireland dropping 4.20 per cent to €8.57. AIB fell 0.56 per cent to €5.37.
Dalata Hotels rose 3.75 per cent to €4.56 and Ryanair was up 0.65 per cent finishing the day at €18.62. Kingspan dropped 1.62 per cent to €75.80. From a housebuilders perspective, Cairn Homes rose 0.91 per cent to €2.21 and Glenveagh dropped 0.99 per cent to €1.60.
The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday as losses in shares of home builders and precious miners countered an upbeat global market sentiment following Republican Donald Trump’s election as United States president.
The blue-chip index was down 0.1 per cent, while the FTSE 250 midcap index rose 0.3 per cent. Both indexes had rallied more than 1 per cent earlier in the session.
US indexes surged in anticipation of looser regulations and lower corporate taxes in the US, but expectations of higher tariffs under a Trump presidency dented a basket of currencies, including the euro and the pound, as well as European shares.
“The impact of higher inflation on corporate profit margins, and how interest rates might not come down as fast as previously expected, are real risks for investors to consider once the dust settles,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Trump’s victory gave a push to defence stocks, given his warnings that he would scale back US military support. The FTSE 350 aerospace and defence sector rose 3.4 per cent.
Focus now shifts to the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision on Thursday, where a 0.25 per cent rate cut is widely expected.
In Europe, the Dax in Germany fell by 1.13 per cent and in France, the Cac 40 dropped by 0.51 per cent. Shares in European automakers slumped over concern about Trump’s threats to hike tariffs on imported cars.
BMW shares fell by 7 per cent, Mercedes-Benz by 6 per cent and Volkswagen and Porsche by 5 per cent as investors scrambled to adjust to Trump’s victory. The four firms were the biggest fallers on Germany’s Dax stock market index on Wednesday.
Trump has promised to impose steeper tariffs on foreign-made cars to protect US jobs, including in the traditional automotive heartland of Michigan, a state he is on track to win.
The president-elect has said he wants to impose a 10 per cent tariff on all non-US goods, and also indicated last month that he was considering targeting German cars.
Wall Street marched to record highs on Wednesday and big stock markets around the world surged, while bitcoin also hit an all-time-high and the dollar was set for its biggest one-day jump in four years after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.
Tesla shares jumped as much as 15 per cent Wednesday to $289.59, their highest intraday since July 2023. That stood in marked contrast to other EV makers, with Rivian Automotive Inc. tumbling 10 per cent and Lucid Group Inc. falling 8 per cent.
The Vix, a measure of volatility also perceived as “Wall Street’s fear gauge” dived 19 per cent as investors scooped up risky assets across the board.
The S&P 500 Index jumped 1.7 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 3 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite leapt 1.95 per cent. All three indices hit record highs on Wednesday. The MSCI index for world stocks rose 0.8 per cent.
The dollar index rallied 1.6 per cent and was set for its best day since September 2022. Additional reporting: Agencies