US stocks soar after Trump declares victory

The U.S. stock market soared on Wednesday, delivering significant gains in the first day of trading after the presidential election.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.6%. That performance marked the best day of trading for the Dow since 2022. The S&P 500 increased 2.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged nearly 3%.

Shares of Donald Trump's media company, Trump Media & Technology, jumped 6% to $36 a share.

The early indicators appeared to show Wall Street's somewhat bullish view of a second term for Trump. Shares of Tesla, the electric vehicle company headed by Trump ally Elon Musk, spiked about 14.5% on Wednesday.

Trump owns a 57% stake in Trump Media, which trades under the DJT ticker and is the parent of social media startup Truth Social. The company late Tuesday reported its third quarterly loss since going public in March.

Markets in the U.S. had surged on Tuesday, led by the Nasdaq's 1.4% rise.

As Trump walked onto the stage in Florida early Wednesday, the dollar was strengthening. The U.S. Dollar Index traded up about 1.4% at 104.75, touching a level it hadn't seen since early August. Yields on 10-year and 2-year Treasury bonds had also climbed overnight.

Trading in Asia was mixed Wednesday as international markets digested the election results. Japan's Nikkei closed up 2.61% for the day, while Shanghai closed nearly flat, slipping just 0.09%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell, dropping 2.23% by the close after opening below Tuesday's close.

The United Kingdom's FTSE 100 Index climbed early Wednesday, rising about 1.43% moments after open. Germany's DAX saw a similar rise, climbing about 1.3% in morning trading.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, a key measure of expected volatility for U.S. markets in the near future, fell dramatically as Trump won. The VIX, which is commonly known as the "fear index," was down about 20% early Wednesday.