The last 24 hours in the United States have been extremely tense. Yesterday the Senate was scheduled to officially count the Electoral College votes and confirm who will be the next President of the United States. However, the United States Congress found itself under siege as Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol.
Indeed, thousands of Donald Trump supporters blocked and later burst into the building where Congress members were gathered. Violence erupted as the rioters laid siege to the Capitol and overcame barricades to get in, while Representatives and Senators were either in hiding or being evacuated. The clashes ended with four people dying (one of them from a gunshot wound) and more than 50 arrested rioters.
The riots were directly caused by Donald Trump, who has been attempting to delegitimize the presidential election before it even started. Over the last few days, with his options running out, he chose to engage his loyal supporters and call on them to disrupt the Electoral College vote certification. He actually used the word “fight” himself when speaking to his supporters.
Multiple White House staff members resigned in protest when the riots started. In the Senate, Trump’s closest Republican allies also disavowed the President. The riots made Republicans less inclined to debate the election results than they were before, which means Trump’s tactic completely backfired.
Despite the horrific developments in DC, Congress was able to certify the results and officially seal Joe Biden’s win. Trump issued a statement that he will leave office on January 20, but he once again asserted his false claims that he had won the election.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party carried Georgia all the way and won control over the Senate. This will give Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the mandate to pass legislation without much trouble from the opposition.
As for other fundamental events affecting the markets today, the economic calendar is rather full of them. The United Kingdom released another PMI report (construction), which disappointed investors. Inflation in the eurozone is predictably sticking to the forecasts, though economic sentiment improved in December.
Later in the day we expect the latest trade balance report from Canada. The United States will also publish a trade report today. In addition, we are awaiting the jobless claims data from the US, a bunch of ISM reports, and several Federal Reserve speeches.
