Stocks and oil prices cheered the confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory, which means a more generous stimulus package to be deployed as soon as possible. The recent rally also supported by more upbeat news on the coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, Donald Trump rejected the outcome of the U.S. election, mounting legal action against vote counting in states where he lost.
US stock indices climbed to the highest levels in eight months after Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential race. The news reports about progress in the development of a vaccine for COVID-19 also supported the bullish move. The stocks also gained on hopes that Republicans likely to retain the Senate, which won’t allow Joe Biden to initiate major changes, such as tax increases that may negatively impact corporate profits.
US dollar remains under pressure amid hopes for a large fiscal stimulus package to prop up the US economy after Joe Biden’s victory. In contrast, the Asian currencies extend gains against the US dollar as the Democrat Biden coming to power in hopes that Trump’s tariff war against China could be called off.
Crude oil prices enjoyed three consecutive week rally following Biden’s victory in the hopes that he will soon announce a large fiscal stimulus package that could support demand for oil. Considering the recent bullish move the oil investors will closely monitor his future actions as he aims to tackle climate change and support renewable energy development.
In coming days, the investors will closely monitor the implications of Biden’s leadership on U.S. foreign policy and the stance toward China and the key oil producers Iran and Venezuela.
On the coronavirus front, the number of COVID cases continues to accelerate in the US but Joe Biden and his team have already started working on tackling the ongoing crisis in the country. He has already set up a twelve-member coronavirus taskforce populated by experts in complementary fields.
On another hand, as we know there’s already good preliminary news about an effective vaccine including Pfizer and Moderna. But the big question is how Biden government is going to handle the vaccine distribution especially reaching rural populations and those without regular access to health care will be difficult.