US futures flat ahead of U.S. presidential election

President-elect Donald Trump taps X owner and Tesla CEO Elon to take leadership of the new ‘department of government efficiency’, alongside taking his pick of the new defence and intelligence heads. U.S. market majors snap their post-election winning streak, while Treasury yields spike and the dollar index hits a 6-months high as investors brace for another Trump administration. Meanwhile, Siemens Energy raises its mid-term outlook after reporting a record order backlog of €123 billion, boosted by a turnaround at turbine unite Gamesa. In Lisbon, global tech leaders gather at the annual Web Summit with the prospect of looser regulations and heightened trade tensions under President-elect Trump. There, Microsoft President Brad Smith tells CNBC that Europe remains key for the company. Germany prepares for a snap election on February 23rd after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition – with Economy minister Robert Habeck saying Berlin still remains a reliable partner.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump’s election victory continues to rally markets, with the S&P 500 topping $6,000 for the first time, and the Dow soaring by more than 300 points to close above the $44,000 mark. Momentum doesn’t stop there as investors jump on the crypto trade, with Bitcoin closing in on the $90,000 mark and Coinbase popping nearly 20%. Meanwhile, sources tell NBC that Senator Marco Rubio is the likely candidate to become Donald Trump’s top diplomat, with the President-elect also said to have tapped China hawk Mike Waltz as his National Security Adviser. In Asia, chipmaker stocks dip over mounting concerns of looming U.S. protectionist measures, prompting South Korea to release its own stimulus measures for domestic producers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The S&P 500 and the Dow are clinching their best week of the year in the wake of former President Trump’s secured return to the White House, and the prospect of looser regulation and tax cuts. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin follows suit, soaring above $80,000 as the Trump trade takes hold. This as the President-elect is confirmed to have won Arizona, completing a clean sweep of all the battleground states, with Republicans now closing in on control of the House. Meanwhile, Chinese consumer inflation hits its lowest level in four months as factory gate deflation deepens, despite China’s new set of stepped-up stimulus measures. In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’s open to moving up a parliamentary confidence vote, potentially paving the way for snap elections sooner rather than later, following the collapse of the nation’s three-way coalition.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The S&P and Nasdaq attain fresh record highs after the Fed cuts rates for a second consecutive time. However, Fed chair Jerome Powell’s press conference was dominated by questions about his position at the central bank following the re-election of President Donald Trump. Trump rewards his campaign manager Susie Wiles with the position of chief-of-staff, the first key appointment to his White House team. Outgoing President Joe Biden promises to ensure a smooth transition of power. In the UK, the Bank of England cuts rates by 25bps while hiking the inflation forecast following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ new budget. Governor Andrew Bailey says developments Stateside are being closely monitored. Following the collapse of the German coalition government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under pressure to hold snap elections. Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Siemens Energy Joe Kaeser tells CNBC that the German economy is crying out for political stability.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wall Street closes at record highs following Donald Trump’s historic win to become the 47th U.S. President. The Dow rallies by 1,500 points thanks to bank stocks after Democratic nominee Kamala Harris concedes the election. In Germany the fragile governing ‘traffic light’ coalition collapses as Chancellor Olaf Scholz fires Finance Minister Christian Lindner over major economic policy disagreements. The move paves the way for a January confidence vote and a likely snap election in March. The race for the U.S. House of Representatives’ majority remains finely poised. The GOP are just nine seats short of a clean sweep of Congressional power. And investors await rate decisions from the Fed, BoE, Riksbank and Norges Bank all due later today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris make their final pitches to the U.S. electorate with rallies in the key battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Wall Street braces itself with global stocks flat while yields slip and the greenback wavers ahead of today’s poll. Boeing workers end their seven-week strike after accepting an improved pay deal. In energy news, Saudi Aramco sees a 15 per cent dip in the third quarter due to weak prices and decreased refining markets. The oil giant does, however, still top expectations and maintains its $31bn dividend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The dollar dips with futures relatively flat as a surprise poll puts Kamala Harris ahead in the Republican-leading state of Iowa. National polling still places both candidates neck-and-neck. Berkshire Hathaway continues to dial down its stakes in Apple and BofA, boosting its cash pile to $325bn. The German ruling coalition is in disarray after finance minister Christian Lindner’s economic manifesto causes major rifts with coalition partners, prompting Chancellor Olaf Scholz to summon talks late last night. Oil surges on the news that Opec+ nations agree to delay output hikes by a month. We hear from TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné who says industry margins are under pressure.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple shares dip following cautious guidance ahead of Christmas. The company also reveals little about demand for its new iPhone 16. Amazon posts a beat on quarterly earnings causing shares to pop in extended trade. The e-commerce giant’s CEO Andy Jassy pledges to significantly ramp up spending on the company’s A.I. technologies. On Wall Street the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq suffer their worst day in more than a month following disappointing Big Tech results. And in the UK, the gilt sell-off increases and sterling endures a volatile session as investors fear Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget could force inflation back up while piling up debt.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft enjoys an A.I. boom but there are concerns over capex and a slowing cloud division which pulls the share price lower in extended trade. Meta posts a top and bottom line beat but shares also fall in after-hours trade as investors remain anxious over greater A.I. infrastructure expenditure at the social media giant. BNP Paribas notches a near-six per cent quarterly rise in net income and confirms its forecast. CFO Lars Machenil tells CNBC he remains bullish about the trend. There’s a surprise expansion in Chinese manufacturing activity in October as recent stimulus measures help to end five consecutive months of contraction. And in the UK, investors digest the first Labour budget in 15 years following one of the largest increases in taxation, spending and borrowing on record.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

UBS posts $1.4bn in Q3 net profit as the lender accelerated the integration of former rival Credit Suisse. Standard Chartered almost doubles its quarterly pre-tax profit which prompts the London-based bank to hike guidance and pledges to lift its dividend payout. Meanwhile in the U.S., Alphabet’s cloud arm delivers stellar results which help push the company’s annual revenues up by 15 per cent in the third quarter, this despite a slowdown in its search and YouTube services. In the UK, gilt yields hit a post-election high ahead of Labour’s much anticipated first budget in 15 years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.