Joe Biden Wins US Presidential Election, Happy Investors

President-Elect Joe Biden (doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Investors and financial executives sighed with relief, Joe Biden became elected president in the US Presidential Election. The major indexes of US stocks posted their biggest weekly gains since April this week

This can be seen when investors bet Biden will win and Republicans will defend the Senate. That scenario would create strong market ties at both the White House and the stock market.

"Biden is good news for the market," said Christopher Stanton, chief investment officer at Sunrise Capital Partners, as quoted by Antara, Sunday, November 8.

"We are all very tired of the whipsaw (volatile stock movement) that came along with Trump's tweet," he added.

Beyond the US Presidential election bout, investors are also a little worried about the people Biden might appoint to his cabinet. Some of those officials will negotiate with Congress on aid packages and have extensive powers to draft Wall Street rules.

The current governor of the US Federal Reserve and former McKinsey consultant, Lael Brainard, has been touted as a candidate for Treasury Secretary, while Biden has appointed former derivatives market regulator and banker GS.N of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Gary Gensler for advice on financial regulation.

For now, leading Wall Street and investor figures say they are happy with the elections finally over after tensions that seem like endless tensions as ballots count throughout the week.

"Now is the time for unity," said JPM.N Chief Executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Jamie Dimon, in a statement. "We must respect the results of the US presidential election and, as we do at every election, respect the decisions of voters and support a peaceful transition of power."

Indeed, the financial industry did not react much, during Donald Trump's leadership. While Trump acknowledges that he has significant support across the country, including on Wall Street, 2020 has been a difficult year for the United States.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed heavy casualties in the country, so far killing an estimated 236,250 people, while social unrest over the police killing of George Floyd, a black man, has only solidified existing divisions.

Many voters expect a fateful election that will offer peace of mind, no matter which candidate they choose. Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz Group's chief economic adviser, said he hoped the Biden administration could work with Congress to deal with the pandemic and authorize an economic stimulus package for struggling Americans.

"These countries need to come together to better deal with the surge in Covid infection, which risks losing more lives, greater disruption to livelihoods, and long-term economic, institutional and social scarring," he said.