The market is acting like Harris won last night's debate against Trump
Alex Brandon/AP Images, Kameon/Getty, Tyler Le/BI
- Price action in the stock market suggests markets think Kamala Harris won Tuesday's debate.
- Investors reacted by selling assets tied to the "Trump trade," with declines in Trump Media stock and bitcoin.
- Renewable energy stocks surged, reflecting investors' confidence in Harris following the debate.
The first Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is over and markets have named the winner.
Following Tuesday night's debate, markets are showing signs that Vice President Harris came out on top, with investors voting with their portfolios and selling assets tied to the so-called Trump trade.
Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, plunged as much as 18% to hit a record low since it went public in March. The stock was trading at $16.16 a share at 10:28 a.m. ET.
Bitcoin, which has been a "Trump trade" this year amid the former president's embrace of cryptocurrency, slumped about 3% since the start of the debate.
"Bitcoin trading on the back foot since the debate signals lower perceived probability of Trump winning, as he is seen as the candidate with a more favourable stance on cryptocurrencies," ING Economics said in a note on Wednesday.
The US dollar, which is expected to strengthen in the event of a second Trump presidency, declined about 0.5% against a basket of currencies at its lowest level on Wednesday.
"A Harris election win is seen as the low-risk and low-volatility outcome of the vote, so any hint of a shift in support away from Trump could act to limit swings in FX, though we do think that her presidency could be mildly bearish for the dollar," Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at financial services firm Ebury, wrote in an email Wednesday morning.
On the flipside, assets that could see a boost from a Kamala Harris presidency were up Wednesday.
Solar stocks surged, with the Invesco Solar ETF up about 4%, and individual stocks like First Solar and Sunrun surging about 8%.
Renewable energy stocks are often viewed as a Democrat-linked trade due to the party's strong embrace of solar and wind power.
"Markets seem to have awarded Harris a victory," ING Economics said.
But with a potential second presidential debate in October and betting markets giving both candidates about a 50-50 chance, it's still anyone's election.
"Betting odds are seeing Trump's chances of winning the election back below 50%, but both campaigns signalled openness to another debate, and markets may want to wait on new opinion polls in the coming days to take more decisive positions on the election," ING Economics said.