European stocks head for lower open as global markets focus on U.S. vote count

Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported third quarter earnings broadly in line with expectations and narrowed its 2024 full-year growth guidance.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant said that its net profit in the third quarter hit 27.3 billion Danish kroner ($3.92 billion), above an LSEG aggregate estimate of 26.95 billion Danish kroner.

Read the full story here.

-Sophie Kiderlin

George Saravelos, global head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, explained that his team were holding into their euro short bet as the U.S. results came in.

In a research note at roughly 5 a.m. U.K. time, just around the time NBC News projected Donald Trump would win North Carolina,, he said:

“While at the time of publication the result is not yet confirmed, polling forecasts suggest a Trump victory is likely. We are holding on to our long-standing short EUR/USD view given the asymmetric dollar positive risks we have been highlighting throughout this year and we move our year-end EUR/USD forecast down to 1.05.”

-Matt Clinch

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, noted markets indicating a victory for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.

“At this point right now, the market’s called it [for Trump]. Whether that turns out to be true is still not decided. That will be the interesting thing to keep an eye on,” Sosnick told CNBC. “But again, the markets have been ahead of the pollsters, the pundits, for some time.”

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures soared more than 480 points, or 1.2%. Bitcoin, which is seen as benefiting from a Trump win, hit a record and was last at $74,148, up 6.7%. Treasury yields also climbed, with the benchmark 10-year note yield trading around 4.4%.

To be sure, several battleground states remain too close to call or too early to call, per NBC News.

— Fred Imbert

Bitcoin rallied Tuesday evening hitting an all-time high as investors bet former President Donald Trump was gaining an edge in the U.S. election.

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency touched a record $75,000 on the nose, according to Coin Metrics. Its gains increased as Trump took an early lead in the Electoral College, even though none of the major swing states were called yet by NBC News.

Exchange operator Coinbase rose 3% in after hours trading, while MicroStrategy, advanced 4%.

For more on bitcoin’s price action on election night read our full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Treasury yields jumped in early trading Tuesday evening as traders saw former President Donald Trump having an edge in the election.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 16 basis points at 4.44%, hitting its highest level since July 2. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was up by 10 basis points to 4.30%. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%. Yields and prices have an inverted relationship.

Even though none of the major swing states were called yet by NBC News, traders speculated the early returns were favoring Trump.

Bond yields could see a big pop in the event of a Trump win, and they could surge in a Republican sweep, where the party captures control of Congress and the White House. That is because Republicans may introduce tax cuts and steep tariffs, moves that could widen the fiscal deficit and reignite inflation.

“Bonds are selling off across the yield curve massively as the Trump trade gets applied again,” wrote Byron Anderson, head of fixed income at Laffer Tengler Investments. “We see markets expecting a Trump victory and a real possibility of a Republican sweep.”

— Yun Li

As the results of one of the most hotly contested elections in the U.S. come in, investors are scrambling to position for the most likely outcome.

Shelby McFaddin, senior analyst at Motley Fool Asset Management, said she expects volatility this week, but a “limited impact on long-term investments as markets await real policy implications.”

Any bets made before the results are final are “pure speculation,” she told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Nov. 5. “Either potential administrations would bring an increase in infrastructure spending and inflation remains a concern.”

Looking past the election result, McFaddin named three stocks she likes right now.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Investors should sell a potential rally in the market if Trump wins the election, according to Citi’s Scott Chronert.

“Your starting point is a fairly extended valuation circumstance that’s predicated on very strong earnings growth follow-through into 2025,” the bank’s U.S. equity strategist told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday. “Our concern is that with that set up, you go into a Trump win and you introduce tariffs into the discussion … [and] 2025 growth expectations become a bit more suspect as we navigate tariff action.”

On the other hand, if Harris is victorious, Chronert said investors should consider buying an anticipated market dip. 

“It really comes down to Trump and tariffs, and Harris and taxes,” he said.

— Sean Conlon

A second Trump administration is more likely to bring volatility to the oil market, according to Goldman Sachs.

Donald Trump could tighten sanctions on Iran, reducing supply from the Islamic Republic and putting upward pressure on prices in the short term, the investment bank told clients in a Monday note.

Oil prices rose about 1% as voters in the U.S. headed to the polls. U.S. crude oil had gained 35 cents, or 0.49%, to $71.82 per barrel by 8:56 a.m. ET. Global benchmark Brent crude futures added 33 cents, or 0.44%, to $75.41 per barrel.

“Conceptually, the impact of a potential second Trump term on oil prices is ambiguous,” Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby, vice president of commodity research at Goldman Sachs, told clients in a note Monday.

Over the medium term, however, a second Trump administration could heighten trade tensions through tariffs, putting downward pressure on global oil demand and prices, according to Goldman.

— Spencer Kimball

Two stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 every November when elections have been held over the past three decades — regardless of the outcome, according to a CNBC Pro study.

CNBC Pro screened for stocks currently in the MSCI World Index that gained more than the S&P 500 — or lost less than the index — in November of every election year since 1988. The 36-year period has seen four Republicans and five Democrats elected to the White House.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the two stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets are expected to open lower Wednesday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 8 points lower at 8,167, Germany’s DAX down 65 points at 19,189, France’s CAC down 22 points at 7,383 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 134 points at 34,098, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Novo Nordisk, Skanska, Lundin Petroleum, Ahold Delhaize, PUMA, Credit Agricole, Pandora, Commerzbank, Henkel and Enel, among others.

— Holly Ellyatt