Dollar and Bitcoin soars as Trump closes in on victory
The US dollar has surged as Donald Trump is on the cusp of winning back the White House in the presidential race.
Bitcoin also hit a record high while traders bet on potential tax cuts, increased tariffs, and rising inflation under Trump.
The result of the election is expected to have a major impact on the global economy.
According to a projection from the BBC’s US partner CBS, the Republican Party is set to take control of the Senate but there are still votes left to count.
The dollar has soared by about 1.5% against a host of different currencies, including the pound, euro and the Japanese yen.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index ended the session up by 2.6%, while Australia’s ASX 200 closed 0.8% higher.
The major US stock indexes also look likely to open sharply higher. That came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed more than 1% higher on Tuesday.
Why is Bitcoin going up?
Trump has pledged to make the US the “bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world”.
The value of Bitcoin has also jumped by $6,000 (£4,645) to a record high of $75,371.69, surpassing the previous high of $73,797.98 seen in March this year.
Trump has said he plans to put billionaire Elon Musk in charge of an audit of governmental waste.
Tesla’s Frankfurt-listed shares rallied over 14% at the open on Wednesday. Mr Musk, Tesla’s top shareholder, has supported Trump throughout his electoral campaign.
Experts are, however, predicting a turbulent day elsewhere on financial markets as a response to global uncertainty and Trump’s potential plans for the economy.
“Many of his measures will be inflationary and likely to lead to a rise in bond yields, putting pressure on the Federal Reserve in its quest to bring interest rates down,” said Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors.
Donald Trump has said he would dramatically increase trade tariffs, especially on China, if he became the next US president.
“Trump’s global trade policies are causing particular angst in Asia, given the strong protectionist platform on which more aggressive tariffs on imports into the US have been pledged,” said Katrina Ell, director of economic research at Moody’s Analytics.
The former president’s more isolationist stance on foreign policy has also raised questions about his willingness to defend Taiwan against potential aggression from China.
The self-ruling island is a major producer of computer chips, which are crucial to the technology that drives the global economy.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by around 2.23%.
Trump’s tax-cutting agenda has been broadly welcomed by large corporates in the US.
“If Trump gets elected, we should see pro business policies and tax cuts, in turn possibly driving up inflation and less rate cuts,” said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners.
Investors also have other key issues to focus on this week.
On Thursday, the US Federal Reserve is due to announce its latest decision on interest rates.
Comments from the head of the central bank, Jerome Powell, will be watched closely around the world.
On Friday, top Chinese officials are expected to unveil more details about Beijing’s plans to tackle the slowdown of the world’s second largest economy.
Source: BBC
