The race for the White House didn’t fall into a protracted spat and at least in the short to medium term, it appears that Trump’s policies are likely to be generally positive for equities. On top of this, the gut feeling is that the US won’t be hiking interest rates quite as quickly under the new administration, which again is something typically cheered by equities on a global basis.
By Tony Cross, Monk Communications
Gains for the London index are also coming in despite the fact that we have seen almost 19 points lopped off in the wake of some hefty dividend payments from the likes of Royal Dutch Shell and BP. Earnings news from Hikma has scuttled the company, leaving the stock at the foot of the index after it trimmed revenue guidance for the year, whilst base metals miners are the stand-out winners with hopes of an infrastructure boom in the US helping here.
We have little on the economic calendar today, but the big risk in terms of derailing sentiment is if the market gets cold feet over the current rally. It has certainly taken many by surprise, but so did the win for Trump and there’s still a lot that needs to be understood, let alone digested.
