Donald Trump’s return as president of the United States for the second time has boosted equity markets on bets of lower corporate tax, favourable tariffs and deregulation, lifting shares of banks, locally focused small-cap companies and Trump Media.His promise to make Tesla CEO Elon Musk head of a government efficiency commission after the billionaire backed Trump throughout his electoral campaign led to a 12.5 percent surge in the shares of the electric carmaker.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened at record highs, while the small-cap Russell 2000 index jumped about 4.8 percent to its highest in nearly three years.
“Business animal spirits could be rekindled once again from Trump’s pro-business approach which could lead to a more robust capital expenditures and investment environment,” said Jeff Schulze, market strategist at ClearBridge Investments.
Trump Media & Technology Group, in which Trump owns a majority stake rose nearly 8 percent in choppy trading. Investors overlooked the company’s latest quarterly results that showed the Truth Social parent’s revenue was just $1m.
The shares have more than tripled in value from their all-time lows in late September, and Trump’s stake was worth as much as $5.3bn, up from $3.9bn on Tuesday.
Strong mandate
Trump’s Republican Party also secured the Senate and was making gains in the House of Representatives, potentially making it easier for the president t …
