European stocks opened modestly higher on Wednesday as investors assessed the US election results, which gave Democrats majorities in both the House and Senate. Milan’s FTSE MIB rose 0.47% to 50,178 points at the start of trading. Paris gained 0.18%, London 0.16% and Frankfurt 0.09%, as concerns about a sharp market reaction eased.
Asian markets also recovered from overnight lows. Tokyo, which had fallen as much as 4.8%, was down 2.1%, while Sydney slipped 0.6%. Hong Kong rose 0.8%, Shanghai added 0.7% and Shenzhen gained 1.3%. Seoul turned positive, up 0.2%, after dropping as much as 4%.
US stock futures recovered some ground, though they remained lower: Nasdaq futures were down 0.4% and S&P 500 futures 0.2%.
Gold climbed 2.6% to $4,007 an ounce as investors moved towards the traditional safe-haven asset. Bitcoin, which had fallen as much as 2.8% to $75,600, was trading just below unchanged at $77,700. US Treasury yields fell by nearly three basis points to 4.93%, amid expectations that divided control of Congress and the presidency could constrain the growth of public debt.
Sources: ANSA Economia.