The frontline US stock market indices soared at the opening bell on Wednesday, as Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections lifted the sentiments at the Wall Street.
The broader index, S&P 500, opened 1.4% higher at 5,864.89 points. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average also opened 1.4% higher at 43,451.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.8% to 18,772.76 points at the opening bell.
The rally in benchmark indices intensified minutes into the trade, with S&P 500 and Dow Jones inching closer to their record highs. At 9:45 a.m. (EST), S&P 500 was up 1.93% at 5,894.63, heading towards its 48th record high of the year.
Dow Jones was trading 3.02% higher at 43,495.85, and Nasdaq Composite gained 2.03% to 18,811.62 at 9:46 a.m.
Smallcaps, banks and health insurers advanced in early trade. Among the top gainers were Tesla Inc., which surged 14% and Trump Media & Technology Group Corp—owned by Trump—which climbed 24%.
The spike in Tesla's stock comes amid speculations of a potential role for its owner Elon Musk in the Trump administration. Musk, who also owns SpaceX and X, was actively involved in Trump's election campaign.
Among the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices, eight were trading in the positive territory, whereas three edged lower. The gains were led by financials and industrials, which advanced by 5% and 2.6%, respectively, at 9:49 a.m. (EST). The drags were headed by real estate and and consumer staples, which slipped at 2% and 0.7%, respectively.
The victory of Trump, who has promised tax cuts and strong tariffs on imports, has also firmed up the US dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which rose to its highest since July on Tuesday, climbed 1.6% after the Wall Street opened on Wednesday.
On expected lines, the 10-year Treasury yield also advanced sharply, rising by 19 basis points to 4.46%.
Bitcoin, the world's largest traded cryptocurrency, spiked 7.4% to $74,308.26 after the Wall Street opened. The cryptocurrency's rally is driven by expectations of ease in regulation, as Trump has promised to make the US the "crypto capital of the world".
Ahead of the opening of the US stock market, the results that trickled in from the American provinces confirmed the return of Trump to the White House, the Associated Press reported. The news agency has called the results in Trump's favour, claiming that the Republican has already bagged 277 electoral college votes—seven more than the majority mark.
Meanwhile, the Asian markets settled on a mixed note before trading commenced at the Wall Street. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index was nearly flat, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 2.23%. Japan's Nikkei 225 also shed 2.61%, but India's NSE Nifty 50 settled with 1.12% gains.