The U.S. stock market, Elon Musk’s Tesla, banks and bitcoin all stormed higher Wednesday as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world.

The S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks.

The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean.

Bank stocks led the market higher, in part on hopes that a stronger economy would mean more customers getting loans and paying them back with interest. JPMorgan Chase soared 11.5%, and financial stocks had the biggest gain by far among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500. Capital One Financial climbed 15%, and Discover Financial jumped 20.2% for some of the market’s biggest gains on speculation their pending merger will more easily get federal clearance under Trump.

Trump’s America-First policies could help companies that focus on customers within the United States, rather than big multinationals that could be hurt by increased tariffs and protectionism. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks, which are seen as more domestically focused than the big stocks in the S&P 500, jumped 5.8%. That was more than double the S&P 500’s gain.

Investors also see Trump’s policies potentially leading to stronger economic growth, which helps push prices down for Treasurys and their yields up. Tax cuts under Trump could also further swell the U.S. government’s deficit, which would increase its borrowing needs and force yields even higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.43% from 4.29% late Tuesday, which is a major move for the bond market. It’s up substantially from August, when it was below 4%.

Trump is a fan of fossil fuels, encouraging production of oil and natural gas. His win sent solar stocks sharply lower, including a 10.1% fall for First Solar and 16.8% slide for Enphase Energy.

The only stock with a bigger loss in the S&P 500 was Super Micro Computer, which said its sales for the latest quarter could come in below its prior forecast. Its stock sank 18.1%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 146.28 points to 5,929.04. The Dow surged 1,508.05 to 43,729.93, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 544.29 to 18,983.47.

— Associated Press

Musk’s Tesla rides Trump’s rising wave

Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Truth Social loses $19M, stock still up

The parent company of Donald Trump’s social networking site Truth Social lost $19.2 million in the last quarter, according to an earnings report released on the same day he won back the presidency.

Trump Media and Technology Group reported late Tuesday that much of that loss stemmed from more than $12 million in legal fees, along with a decline in revenue, according to the surprise Election Day earnings report.

Trump created the company after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Revenue for the three-month period that ended on Sept. 30 was just over $1 million, down nearly 6% from a year earlier. Trump Media, based in Sarasota, Fla., has lost more than $363 million so far this year.

Trump Media said some of its costs related to the launch of its new TV streaming service called Truth+.

The company behind Trump’s Truth Social platform rose 5.9% after jumping nearly 35% earlier in the day. It regularly trades more on Trump’s popularity than on prospects for its profits.

Bitcoin hits more records after election

The price of bitcoin hit a new high Wednesday and crypto-related shares rallied as investors bet that former President Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin jumped nearly 8% in early trading, climbing above $75,000 and smashing its previous record set in March. Other cryptocurrencies also soared, including ether, the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin, which rallied 8%.

Another token, dogecoin, rocketed as much as 18%. It’s the favorite cryptocurrency of billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most prominent supporters.

Crypto-related shares outran the rest of the stock market. Coinbase, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, leaped 17%. Online brokerage Robinhood Markets, which offers crypto trading, soared 12% and MicroStrategy, which says it is the “largest corporate holder of bitcoin,” jumped 10%.

Trump was previously a crypto skeptic but changed his mind and embraced cryptocurrencies ahead of the election.

— From news services