Former US president Donald Trump has been elected as the 4th president of the United States after comfortably winning the 2024 presidential election. The Republican candidate has secured more than 270 electoral votes after winning in key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Republican nominee has secured 277 electoral votes. Kamala Harris, meanwhile, obtained 224 electoral votes.
As we outlined prior to the election, markets are clearly taking the view that another spell in the Oval Office for Donald Trump is a bullish development for the US dollar.
Donald Trump’s victory will ensure a lower tax environment that should boost sentiment and spending in the near term. However, promised tariffs, immigration controls and higher borrowing costs will increasingly become headwinds through his presidential term.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to cut interest rates on Thursday for the second consecutive meeting. This is a crucial event as it will happen right after the US presidential election and it directly affects families and businesses in the United States.
Bitcoin (BTC) soared over 7% to a new all-time high of $75,407 on Wednesday as Donald Trump was elected as the 47th President of the United States, the candidate that was seen as more favorable for crypto markets due to his pro-crypto stances. Technical indicators suggest BTC could head to the next target at the $78,777-$78,955 region, with reports highlighting the growing momentum of the so-called Trump trade, which is based on long positions in the US Dollar (USD), crypto, and higher Treasury yields.
European markets are in a buoyant mood following a US election that saw Donald Trump sweep to power, casting aside any of the polling doubts that had recently emerged. Despite concerns around the potential implications for trade between the countries, we have seen widespread optimism that Trump’s pro-business stance will lift all boats. However, the one standout loser in all of this comes from the China region, with the Hang Seng falling over 2% as traders reacted to the increased chance that we will see a raft of protectionist tariffs imposed on exports into the US.
The fact that Trump did not mention tariffs or global trade in his victory speech is helping to boost risk sentiment, however, it is early days and there will be plenty of time in the future for Trump to talk about trade barriers.
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The 2024 United States presidential election concluded with the Republican candidate Donald Trump winning his second non-consecutive term, defeating the Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. Trump secured 312 electoral votes to Harris's 226. Republicans regained control of the Senate and also kept the majority in the House of Representatives.
In the United States, presidential elections are usually contested between the two main political parties: the Republican party and the Democratic party. Each party nominates a presidential candidate through a series of state primaries and/or caucuses. There are differences between the parties, a process that can differ fromstate to state.
One of the biggest polling days during this process is known as Super Tuesday, so-called by the fact that more than a dozen states hold their primary contests on that day. The results on Super Tuesday are therefore a strong indicator of the likely eventual presidential nominee of each political party.Candidates compete for 538 electoral college votes, with 270 needed to win. Each state's electoral votes, based partly on population, are won by the candidate who wins the most votes in that state. The winner-takes-all rule applies in most states, meaning the leading candidate receives all that state's electoral votes. Since most states lean toward one party, attention focuses on battleground states, where the outcome is less predictable.
US citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote in the presidential election, which is held every four years.
The period between the election and the inauguration is known as the "lame duck period". During this period, the outgoing president transitions power to the president-elect.
AUD/USD holds above 0.6600 in Friday’s Asian session, remaining close to yesterday's two-month high. Divergent RBA-Fed policy expectations support spot prices amid a broadly weaker US Dollar. However, bulls are pausing ahead of today’s key US PCE Price Index. Still, spot prices remain on track to register strong gains for the second consecutive week.
USD/JPY remains weak near 155.00 in the Asian session on Friday. The pair faces headwinds from expectations of the Fed-BoJ monetary policy divergence, which outweighs the fall in Japanese Household Spending in October. All eyes are on the delayed US Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index data for September later on Friday.
Gold price (XAU/USD) trades on a flat note near $4,205 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. Rising US Treasury yields and upbeat US jobs data cap upside for the precious metal. Traders might prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of the key US inflation data. The US delayed the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index report for September, which will be published later on Friday.
Ripple (XRP) is trading under pressure at the time of writing on Thursday, after bulls failed to break the short-term resistance at $2.22. The reversal may extend toward Monday’s low of $1.98, especially if risk-off sentiment persists in the broader cryptocurrency market.
The Fed has gone through a noticeable policy swing in recent months - from initiating a rate cut, to signaling a potential pause, and now shifting once again toward another cut in December. This has created understandable confusion among traders and investors trying to interpret the Fed’s reaction function.
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