Relief at no surprises in the US Midterm elections has rolled around the global markets.
The Democrat win in the House of Representatives was expected, as was the Republicans holding on to the upper house regardless of the winning slant President Trump has put on the result.
The Dow and S&P 500 were up 2.1%, while the Nasdaq leapt 2.6%.
Shares in drug firms with cannabis connections rose as supply laws in several states eased and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions was removed from office by Trump. Sessions was a hard liner against offering cannabis to consumers.
In Europe, the FTSE was boosted by demand for a new cancer drug from AstraZeneca, while the company posted hopes of growth continuing for a year or more.
In the US, electric luxury car maker Tesla has appointed Robyn Denholm as chief executive after the resignation of CEO Elon Musk, who stays in his role.
Denholm was chief of Aussie telecom firm Telstra. She has had a place on Tesla’s board since 2015.
Political gridlock
“I believe in this company, I believe in its mission and I look forward to helping Elon and the Tesla team achieve sustainable profitability and drive long-term shareholder value,” she said.
Tesla has never turned a profit.
Stocks in the Asia pacific markets were also up after some weeks of uncertainty over trade tensions and rising interest rates.
“This will halt deregulation legislation, which in turn will hurt sectors such as banking, energy, industrials, and smaller companies that stood to gain most from looser controls,” said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, a leading international financial consultancy for expats.
But he expects political gridlock in Washington to put the brakes on the rally.
“It can be reasonably assumed that this rally will be relatively short-lived as it could then be offset by legislative gridlock in Washington,” he said. “This will halt deregulation legislation, which in turn will hurt sectors such as banking, energy, industrials, and smaller companies that stood to gain most from looser controls. Pharmaceuticals may suffer as the Democrats seek to bring down drug prices.”
Wall Street gains after US mid-terms – BBC News I think it’s a short term rally https://t.co/YM27Og27Os
— Nigel Green (@nigeljgreen) November 8, 2018
Market data
| Exchange | % change | Value | Movement |
| LONDON | |||
| FTSE 100 | 1.50% | 7127.86 | 10.58 |
| FTSE 250 | 0.29% | 19202.88 | 55.66 |
| Amsterdam | |||
| AEX | 0.17% | 529.47 | 0.90 |
| Paris | |||
| CAC40 | -0.06% | 5134.98 | -2.96 |
| Frankfurt | |||
| DAX | 0.03% | 11582.65 | 3.55 |
| STOXX50 | -0.01% | 3245.85 | 0.31 |
| Madrid | |||
| IBEX35 | -0.06% | 9162.40 | -5.50 |
| New York | |||
| Dow Jones | 2.13% | 26180.3 | 545.29 |
| NASDAQ | 2.64% | 7570.75 | 194.79 |
| Chicago | |||
| S&P500 | 2.12% | 2813.89 | 58.44 |
| Bombay | |||
| BSE Sensex | 0.07% | 35237.68 | 245.77 |
| Hong Kong | |||
| Hang Seng | 0.31% | 26227.72 | 80.03 |
| Tokyo | |||
| Nikkei | 1.82% | 22486.92 | 401.12 |
| Shanghai | |||
| Shanghai Composite | -0.23% | 2,659.36 | -6.07 |
Source: BBC
