Global markets have rallied in response to the recent declaration that Joe Biden has won the US election. The end of uncertainty about the race’s outcome saw London’s FTSE 100 rise 1.5% to 5,994.58 points in early trade, with similar gains seen across Europe. Asian shares also jumped, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbing 2.1% to 24,839.84 – it’s highest level since 1991. There were similar gains in Australia, China and Hong Kong while oil and currency markets also climbed. Donald Trump has yet to fully concede, however, Biden is forging ahead with his plans for assuming power in January after major US networks called the election in his favour recently.

With uncertainty disappearing (subject to unlikely success Donald Trump may have with various legal actions) the markets can focus now on the policies that Joe Biden is likely to enact going forward as opposed to the constant, ‘is it going to be litigious? Are we looking at another potential Bush-Gore event like we saw in 2000, where it took 6-7 weeks to realise what was going to happen?’ Mr Biden has already said he will reverse many Trump era policies, including re-joining the Paris Climate agreement on his first day in office in January. There are also hopes that the new administration will expand fiscal stimulus in the US and widen measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19. However, Mr Biden could struggle to enact key planks of his agenda as its looks unlikely the Democrats with have control of both houses in Congress. This means the Senate may be able to block any big regulatory or tax policies, a plus for some businesses. In China, the main shares benchmark – the Shanghai Composite – rose almost 2% on Monday, as investors viewed the Biden win as positive for trade and technology policy. Relations between Donald Trump and China deteriorated during his four-year tenure, sparking a tariff war in 2018 that imposed taxes on imported goods from both countries. The market is taking the Biden win as a positive, as he is not very likely to fight a new trade war with China. The chance for a new tech war is also drifting lower.