The Dollar has finally eased off a little this week, allowing competing currencies to catching a long-awaited breath of air. The DXY attempted a push beyond 107 last week but it seems as though such plans have been abandoned for now, settling instead above 106 for the time being. Cryptocurrencies remain strong; Bitcoin is now becoming comfortable with the $90k level with BTC dominance around 60%.

Attentions are shifting away from the Middle East and back towards Ukraine and Russia. The incoming administration has been admittedly less interested in the conflict, but let us remind ourselves that the incumbents still have a couple of months left in office. The escalation is perhaps responsible for the recent bounce back in gold, which climbed up to $2,640 an ounce yesterday, still around $150 shy of its record high set in late October.

Oil prices have risen marginally this week but remain stubbornly near yearly lows. Brent Crude remains around $73 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate hovers just under $70. Any escalation with Russia will buoy crude prices, if only temporarily, but global supply and demand dynamics continue to put pressure on oil markets.

Nvidia is once again back under the spotlight. Later today, after the closing bell, the chipmaker will release its latest earnings report. In anticipation of the event, Nvidia (NVDA) shares rose almost 5% yesterday to $147. Ravenous appetites from the artificial intelligence craze continue to fuel demand for chips and many analysts are already claiming the report will smash expectations. Time will tell.

The US Dollar is now at yearly highs, which seems incredible considering it was at yearly lows only six weeks ago. The DXY made yet another step up during yesterday’s session to close the day just under 107. The Euro continued to get hammered by the relentless push in the Greenback, now flirting with $1.05 and below. The Yen is also feeling the pressure, USDJPY climbing back above 156 yesterday and rising higher still this morning in Asia.

During a speech in Dallas on Thursday, Jerome Powell told reporters that the Federal Reserve was in no rush to ease monetary policy. The comments dampened hopes for a final rate cut during the Fed’s final meeting of the year, scheduled for the 18th of December. Powell referred to a solid job market and inflation levels above 2% as justification for the stance. FedWatch odds for the final decision are now roughly 50-50 between a 25 bps cut and no change.

Gold once again closed the day in the red on Thursday, making it five for five. It is fair to say that the safe-haven asset has reacted badly to the election of Donald Trump, falling over 6% since the 5th of November to $2,564 yesterday. Silver is not faring any better, closing just above $30 an ounce after briefly wicking below that level. Bitcoin experienced a minor pullback yesterday but remains around $88k at the time of writing. Meme coins have been popping off here and there during the course of this week, in moves reminiscent of the previous bull-run.

After a solid week of rallies, markets eased off a little yesterday as euphoria surrounding the election finally began to dissipate. US indices all experienced pullbacks on Tuesday, with the Dow in particular losing 0.86% on the day. The S&P 500 also withdrew a little, closing the session 0.3% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite lost a mere 0.1%. Profit-taking extended around the globe, with European and Asian markets also seeing selling pressure. Crypto markets were not immune to the pullback either. After pushing beyond $90k yesterday, Bitcoin is now resting on its laurels before deciding where to go next.

Still no loss of momentum in the Dollar however. The DXY continued to rip yesterday, pushing to 106 and briefly reaching highs not seen since May. The push has been particularly detrimental to the Euro, which is now teetering at yearly lows of 1.06 per Dollar. If there is one potential bump in the road for the Greenback, it may come in the form of US CPI data later today. Markets will also be interested to hear what Jerome Powell has to say on Thursday.

Precious metals continue to feel the pain. Gold closed below $2,600 on Tuesday, now down almost $200 since its October peak. A surging Dollar certainly isn’t helping, but neither is the prospect of fewer rate cuts from the Fed moving forward. The elephant in the room however is that as the US pushes for a more unipolar world – with itself at the centre – safe-haven assets become a harder sell. Donald Trump is still two months away from being inaugurated and yet various factions around the world, from Gaza to Iran, are already beginning to strike more complacent tones.

Election week may be over, but traders and investors still have their work cut out. The election of President Trump changes the financial landscape and market participants will have to bear this in mind over the next few years.

First things first: the US Dollar. The Greenback reacted strongly to the election result, gaining against major competitors to push the DXY up to 105. The Dollar has performed well over the past six weeks, in large part because of a higher interest rate compared to other currencies. The Federal Reserve has been unwilling to slash rates too aggressively because the US labour market has proven robust enough and inflation has been dampened enough to allow for less aggressive action. With Donald Trump at the reigns, the consensus is that inflation may increase again, which means the Fed will be even less inclined to cut rates. Nevertheless, the central bank continues to reiterate that all future decisions will be data driven, i.e. wait-and-see mode for now.

US stocks were certainly happy with the election result. The Dow and S&P 500 both gained an impressive 4.6% on the week and the Nasdaq Composite fared even better with a 5.7% weekly close. All three indices ended the week on record highs. Tesla (TSLA) rose a massive 29% last week thanks to both the result and a strong earnings report.

Cryptocurrencies took the news best of all. Bitcoin surged 17% last week following the result, dragging the rest of the market along with it. Total crypto market cap increased by almost half a trillion Dollars over the course of the week, bringing it to within closing distance of the 2021 all-time high.

In the immediate term, there is not a lot going on this week. Armistice Day in parts of Europe and North America will make for barren trading conditions this Monday. Tomorrow has equally little to offer in terms of tradeable events. Wednesday alleviates the boredom a little with US CPI data, before Jerome Powell delivers a speech the following day. Traders are probably grateful for the reprieve.

On Friday the 8th of November, Nvidia (NVDA) will replace fellow chipmaker Intel (INTC) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI). As part of the same restructuring, paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams (SHW) will replace the confusingly named Dow Chemical Company (DOW).

Intel was first introduced to the index back in 1999 but has suffered considerably in recent times. Its stock price has fallen over 50% year-to-date, bringing Intel’s market cap down to a mere $100 billion. Contrast this with Nvidia, which has seen its stock price almost triple this year alone, pushing its market cap well over $3 trillion.

Intel was once considered a giant in the chip manufacturing sector but saw its dominance crumble in the face of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a company heavily intertwined with Nvidia. Intel is also widely considered to have missed the boat when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. Whatever the reason for the downfall, the fact remains that Intel now has the lowest stock price of the price-weighted Dow index.

There is nothing out of the ordinary about switching up the composition of the Dow, which has existed since 1896 and has always included 30 companies since that time. Some companies have even left the index only to rejoin it decades later, such as Coca-Cola, Chevron and IBM. Others were unceremoniously kicked out of the club after over a century of membership, such as General Electric. That said, the bulk of the changes have occurred in the last thirty years.

The development serves as a reminder that nothing lasts forever, particularly in the world of finance. Intel inside no longer, at least as far as the Dow is concerned.

An eventful week draws to a close. There was nothing ambiguous about the market reaction to Trump’s decisive victory in the US election. The financial landscape in general will be grateful for the clarity of the result this time round, but looking at specific markets paints an even clearer picture. The Dollar is up significantly, as are US stock markets, not to mention cryptocurrencies. Tesla (TSLA) also rose sharply following the result, as did a number of tech-related stocks. Safe-haven assets such as gold on the other hand saw heavy selling pressure.

So where are markets headed moving forward? One of President Trump’s characteristic traits is of course his unpredictability, nevertheless some predictions can be established with relative confidence. Trump is expected to enact more protectionist measures, imposing additional tariffs on Asia and Europe with the aim of prioritising US-based manufacturing. He is also widely expected to lower corporate income tax and introduce policies to ease tax burdens in general. Finally, the president-elect is expected to reduce regulation across the board but particularly in the technology and financial fields.

As we have already seen in the crypto markets, that latter point may have the most immediate effect. It is very possible that the SEC will experience a significant reshuffling in the months following inauguration and for the crypto industry this cannot come soon enough. Cryptocurrencies have suffered through a total lack of guidance in recent years, almost begging for clarity from regulators but receiving nothing but punitive measures in return.

Inflation is one of the bigger questions. Many analysts claim that a Trump presidency will ramp up inflationary pressures, which is something that the Federal Reserve will have to contend with. Central banks around the world have only just started lowing interest rates, the Fed and the Bank of England doing so again just yesterday in fact. That being said, the change of the guard is still over two months away and the deeper structural changes will obviously take time to manifest.