Dow set to surge more than 1,200 points as Trump is re-elected

Markets were set to rise sharply Wednesday morning following a shift toward Republicans, including a decisive and significant re-election of former President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election.

Markets were set to rise sharply Wednesday morning following a shift toward Republicans, including a decisive and significant re-election of former President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election. Dow futures soared 1,200 points, or 2.9%. The broader S&P 500 was 2.3% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 1.8%. Trump flipped several swing states from President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, and Republicans also took control of the Senate. Several key House races remain undecided. A so-called red wave could usher in an era of deregulation and other pro-business laws and policies that investors believe could benefit the stock market. However, Trump has advocated for policies, including tax breaks and increased public spending, that could significantly increase America’s budget deficit. That devalued US Treasury bonds, and so yields, which trade in the opposite direction of bond prices, surged. The 10-year bond yield rose above 4.4%, undercutting the US Federal Reserve’s efforts to lower interest rates to boost the economy. The Fed had been hiking rates over the past couple of years to combat a devastating inflation surge. But it began cutting rates in September and is widely expected to cut again Thursday at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. Although the Fed funds rate can influence Treasury yields, consumer loans, including mortgage rates, auto loans and credit cards, are tied more closely to Treasury yields. So Trump’s victory, at least for now, appears to be keeping those rates somewhat higher.