US open: Stocks unexpectedly rally as Donald Trump is elected president

US markets unexpectedly rallied as a property tycoon and former reality TV star, come Republican nominee, bewildered pollsters to become president elect on Wednesday.

After surprising victories in key states such as Florida, Ohio and Iowa, Donald Trump became the 45th US president.

As he neared victory, Asian markets were in the red, but after Trump’s first speech, which was considered more presidential and less maverick, global markets calmed which trickled from US equity futures to the FTSE.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22% to 18,373.90 points, the S&P 500 climbed 0.12% to 2,142.09 points and the Nasdaq edged higher 0.05% to 5,196.19 points at 1458 GMT.

Gold futures on Comex advanced 0.77% to $1,284.30 per troy ounce at 1458 GMT.

However, oil prices retreated as Brent crude fell 0.15% to $45.97 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate was down 0.33% to $44.83 at 1454 GMT.

In currency markets, the dollar was down 0.68% versus the yen at 104.44, while the Mexican peso was also paring losses somewhat after plunging to its worst level ever against the greenback earlier.

The pound was up for a change by 0.22% against the dollar to 1.24.

Mark Taylor, chief executive of Selftrade, an online investment and share dealing platform, said markets were largely down across the board, a far cry from the volatility after the Brexit vote as the dollar and sterling are back on an even keel, and the FTSE 100 rallied. Learning from Brexit, investors remained calm.

“It is extremely difficult to predict how the next few hours, days and weeks will play out, but it is likely the market will remain volatile and there will be significant currency fluctuations. While the dollar has remained relatively calm, all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve’’s decision in December on whether or not to hike rates. It’s unclear at this stage if Trump is perceived by the currency markets to be protectionist and anti-trade, or pro-business and growth. This strongest trend at the moment is emerging market weakness.

He said with the upcoming referendum in Italy, followed by elections in France and Germany, and further uncertainty around Brexit that investors may want to sit tight and see what happens.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex said: “Fuelled by pharmaceuticals (relieved they won’t have a Hillary Clinton government putting pressure on drug prices), miners and anything that may benefit from Trump’s promised big infrastructure spend the Dow Jones, an index that was threatening to fall 800 points earlier in the day, actually managed a 20 point rise after the opening bell.

“The dollar also saw a sharp recovery; it now sits just under 1.24 against the pound, and has taken back 0.7% against the euro while shrinking its losses against the yen to around a quarter of what they were.”

Campbell added that it was too early to tell what Trump has in store, even if Wednesday confounded market expectations.

In corporate news, shares in HCA Holdings, an operator of healthcare facilities, plunged 16.95% as Mizuho cut its rating to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’.

Shares in miner Freeport-McMoRan soared 6.53% as the price of copper hit a 52 week high.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams is due to talk about the economy at the University of San Francisco at 0200 GMT and Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari will speak in Eau Claire, Wisconsin at 1830 GMT.