Europe midday: Stocks come off highs as investors digest US election aftermath

European markets came off their highs by Wednesday lunchtime but were still trading with impressive gains in the aftermath of the US presidential election, with Donald Trump defeating Kamala Harris to emerge as the clear winner.

While votes were still being tallied, Trump looks set to win the majority of votes, taking the swing states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, while being ahead in Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona. The Republican Party is also set to take control of the Senate.

By 1242 CET, Trump had 279 electoral college votes, surpassing the 270 needed to win, ahead of Harris with 223.

The Stoxx 600 was up 1.1% at 515.15, pulling back after surging as much as 1.9% early on, with strong gains in London and Paris met with a more subdued reaction in Frankfurt and Milan, while Spanish stocks fell sharply.

Wall Street futures were pointing to huge gains ahead of the opening bell, with the Dow rising 2.9% the S&P 500 up 2.2% and the Nasdaq gaining 1.6%.

"European markets are in a buoyant mood following a US election that saw Donald Trump sweep to power, casting aside any of the polling doubts that had recently emerged. Despite concerns around the potential implications for trade between the countries, we have seen widespread optimism that Trump’s pro-business stance will lift all boats," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

In economic news, the Eurozone economy failed to gain ground in October, a closely-watched survey showed on Wednesday, weighed down by weakness in Germany and France. The latest seasonally-adjusted Eurozone composite PMI output index from Hamburg Commercial Bank was revised higher to 50.0, marginally ahead of September’s 49.6 and the initial estimate of 49.7.

Producer prices eased in the Eurozone in September, in line with expectations. According to first estimates from Eurostat, industrial producer prices fell 0.6% in both the Eurozone and wider bloc after growing by 0.6% in August.

Meanwhile, activity in the UK construction sector expanded for the eighth straight month in October, though growth eased from a two-year high as uncertainty delayed spending decisions ahead of the Autumn Budget. The S&P Global-CIPS construction PMI fell to 54.3 last month from 57.2 in September, missing the 56 consensus estimate.

Market movers

Companies with heavy exposure to the US market were performing well, such as London-listed equipment rental firm Ashtead, hotels group InterContinental and building materials provider CRH.

Wind-energy firms were falling sharply, including Oersted and Vestas Wind Systems, in the aftermath of the US election results. "Investors who thought Kamala Harris would win might have gone all-in on renewable energy stocks given her pro-green stance, and that trade is now unwinding," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

UK housebuilder Persimmon was a heavy faller after delivering 1,416 homes in the third quarter, slightly down from 1,439 last year. However, the company said it was still on track to hit full-year targets for housing completions this year.

Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk surged after reporting a 24% increase in third-quarter sales, helped by demand for its diabetes and obesity treatments.