The FTSE 100 fell in mid morning trading on Wednesday in the wake of a shock presidential victory for Donald Trump.
The FTSE climbed in the early hours but has since dipped down to the 6,818 mark. Gold prices surged late last night and early in Wednesday’s session as investors fled to the safe haven, but have since fallen back to around $1,297.
The world awoke to news of a Trump victory this morning, prompting investor concern over future volatility. Hillary Clinton was seen by many in the financial markets to be the ‘safe’ option. Joshua Raymond, analysts at XTB.com, commented:
“The outcome of this contest has seemingly caught the markets off guard in a repeat of the Brexit vote with forecasters and reputable pollsters wide of the mark once more in their predictions.”
High profile investment manager Neil Woodford told the BBC:
“As much as this election result is a vote for Trump, in my view, it is also a vote against the political establishment from a large part of society that is angry that policy has done little to help it since the global financial crisis. It is likely that there will be policy changes now and, although it is difficult to have immediate clarity on what these will be, we should expect a more inclusive domestic growth agenda will emerge.”
However, shares in weapons and defence companies saw a recovery in price on the back of a Trump victory, hopeful that he would move the US in a different direction to Hillary’s sector-damaging policies. BAE Systems (LON:BA) is up 5.38 percent at 577.51, with Rolls Royce (LON:RR) up 4.18 percent (1355GMT).