Wall Street Soars To Record High As Trump Rally Continues

Wall Street jumped higher on Thursday with the Dow Jones industrial average hitting a record intraday high, as investors bet that US President-elect Donald Trump would lead a shift away from austerity policies.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 161.69 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 18,751.38. The S&P 500 went up 17.11 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 2,180.37 - the index was less than 20 points shy of its record intraday high. The Nasdaq Composite index climbed 45.40 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 5,296.47.

The market mood has turned around dramatically since the immediate aftermath of Mr Trump's victory, which prompted widespread selling on Wednesday in Asia. On Thursday, Asian shares posted hefty gains as they responded to the optimism recorded in Europe and the US the day before. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was the standout performer, rocketing 6.7 per cent to close at 17,344.42 after sliding more than 5 per cent the day before.

Indian stocks rebounded sharply, tracking global markets after Mr Trump's shock victory. The Sensex rose as much as 491 points and the Nifty moved closer to its crucial psychological level of 8,600, before the benchmark indices came off the intraday high levels on mild profit-booking in auto and IT shares. (Read: 'Softer' Trump sparks market rebound, Sensex rises 265 points)

As well as taking comfort from Mr Trump's comments that he will look to unify a deeply divided nation, investors are focusing on his promises to boost US economic growth through infrastructure spending and by cutting red tape, rather than uncertainties such as what he might do with trade agreements.

Before Mr Trump's victory speech, investors had been worried because his campaign promises carried few policy details, making him an unknown quantity compared with his rival, Hillary Clinton, who was seen as a safe choice.

"Investors are keen to focus on the positive aspects of a Trump Presidency rather than some of the more worrying pledges made during the campaign," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 0.5 per cent at 10,697, the CAC-40 in France rose 0.6 per cent to 4,572 and Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.1 per cent lower at 6,904. Russia was one of the biggest gainers in Europe amid optimism there that Mr Trump's election will improve relations. The Micex index in Moscow was up 2.3 per cent.

The upcoming Trump presidency, which will commence on January 20, will likely remain a key driver in markets for the rest of the year. Mr Trump will meet the outgoing US President Barack Obama later on Thursday at the White House to work on transition arrangements.

"With Trump now set to move into the White House the possibility of a political mishap causing markets to tumble just ratcheted up several notches," said David Cheetham, market analyst at XTB.

The dollar has been fairly solid since Mr Trump's victory. The euro was down 0.3 per cent at $1.0895, while the dollar rose 1.1 per cent to 106.84 yen.

In oil markets, US crude futures fell 35 cents to $44.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 28 cents to $46.07 a barrel in London.