How the (uncertified) US Elections affected the trading markets

There were a variety of outcomes that were anticipated and investors sat at the edge of their seats with every turn, rise, and dip leading up to the day that polls would close and votes would be counted, and this has not yet ended.

There is still a lot happening despite Former Vice President Joe Biden becoming the President-elect, with President Donald Trump having filed lawsuits in four states namely Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Michigan associated with election and alleged voting fraud.

The question that remains on every investor and trader’s mind, is how the markets have reacted, and are reacting to such substantial occurrences.

Joe Biden has advocated the increase of income tax on the rich as well as enterprises with the intervention in the economy strengthening the supervision on financial market.

President Donald Trump, however, promotes cuts in comprehensive tax which inevitably encourages the return of manufacturing industries as well as employment.

How were markets affected before and after election day?

The cryptocurrency market, for one, was a market that saw numerous price movements as Bitcoin’s price shot up to $15,000. ( currently trading at $19,000)

This was affected by the decrease in mining difficulty in addition to anticipation of election results says Louis Schoeman from Forexsuggest.com

Stock markets have seen highs and lows along with the Forex market where the US Dollar has fluctuated against other major currencies. Investors and traders alike have braced themselves for election results.

Stock valuations were much richer on the eve of election day than they have ever been in any historical campaign cycle, which has had a lot of investors worried as the prices are already influenced by so many other economic factors.

Covid-19 and what is said to be the ‘second wave’ of infections, especially notable in Europe and the US, the ability of economies and their recovery, a rebound in earnings, and numerous other factors have tilted and shifted the markets in the past month.

The stock markets saw a substantial surge the day after elections with the Down Jones seeing an increase of 2.4%, the Nasdaq 100 was up 4.1%, and the S&P 500 saw a jump of around 3%.

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What can be expected from a Joe Biden Presidency?

It is expected that President-elect Joe Biden will keep stocks running despite the early fears that a Democratic victory would result in tax hikes. The hopes for a substantial stimulus have arisen and in addition, Biden has already announced plans for a Covid-19 taskforce to be announced in the next few days.

This is an imperative factor that, despite the excitement in the last few weeks, must be considered as the United States currently have the most confirmed Covid-19 cases globally, with record-breaking numbers being recorded daily.

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