Wall Street stocks surged in opening trading after US voters sent Donald Trump back to the White House and delivered him a Republican Senate, AFP reports.

Major indices traded in record territory in a rally that reflected both expectations of growth-oriented policies and relief that the United States avoided a protracted fight over the results.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 43,477.49, up 3.0 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.7pc to 5,881.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also rose 1.7pc to 18,755.77.

The gains showed investor hopes about expected tax cuts and regulatory easing more than offset worries about higher tariffs.

The election means Trump “will have a mandate in Congress that will presumably make it easier to enact the policies he would like to see enacted,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

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