Asian markets rise on US election outcome

ASIAN markets rose broadly on Thursday, as the US midterm elections panned out much as analysts had ex- pected - with the Democrats taking the House of Representatives while the Republicans retained control of the Senate.

DBS chief investment officer Hou Wey Fook said that the results were overall positive for financial markets because the political gridlock caused by a split Congress will weigh on fiscal stimulus in the US, and in turn slow down the rise of the US dollar and rates.

"To push his economic agenda through, Trump will now need to seek compromises from both sides of the aisle - a tall order after running a polarising two-year presidency," said Mr Hou. "We expect Trump's tax reform and other infrastructure programmes to face stiffer resistance."