Orsted leads wind energy sell-off after Trump’s ‘crazy’ whale claims
Danish wind giant and Donald Trump rival Orsted saw its share price plummet on Wednesday morning following the Republican candidate’s victory in the US presidential election.
US networks declared Trump the winner as he surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency after sweeping swing states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Trump has been an outspoken opponent of offshore winds, repeating false claims that they drive whales “crazy” and lead to their deaths throughout his latest presidential campaign. In May, Trump said he planned to eliminate offshore wind projects “first day” in the Oval Office.
That backdrop was not affected by investors, who sent Orsted’s share price down as much as 14% in early morning trading on Wednesday.
Orsted has clashed with Republicans over wind projects in the US in recent years, with its CEO, Mads Nipper, calling the country “the most painful part of our portfolio ”.
The group lost $4 billion last year due to the cancellation of two offshore wind projects in New Jersey. The result of the withdrawal was set to pay New Jersey 125 million USD.
New Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew hailed Orsted’s withdrawal as a victory last year, comparing it to David succeeding Goliath.
It also caught the attention of Trump, who is skeptical of wind energy.
“This monstrosity requires huge government subsidies, and in the end, it doesn’t work,” Trump wrote about the canceled Orsted projects on his social media platform Truth Social in 2015. last.
Along with Orsted, Danish wind power company Vestas also experienced a sharp sell-off, with its value dropping nearly 10% as of 1 p.m. local time.
European stock markets increased
While the calculations of renewable energy companies were early casualties of Trump’s victory, broader stock markets in Europe did not experience the sell-off that some might have expected.
European stock markets rose Wednesday after Trump’s convincing victory, contrasting worries about what a second Trump term might mean for the continent’s economy and security. this place.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.2% as of 11:30am, while the Eurostoxx 600 was up about the same.
One of the biggest gainers on the London Stock Exchange is Baillie Gifford’s US Development Trust, which invests in companies headquartered or listed in the United States. The index rose 5.2% in early trading.
The JPMorgan US Smaller Companies Investment Trust, a UK-listed fund looking to invest in emerging US companies, posted double-digit gains.
US stocks soared in pre-market trading after news of Trump’s election as president. The S&P 500 rose 2.3% pre-market, with Elon Musk’s Tesla the big winner, up nearly 15%. Musk has put his financial muscle behind Trump throughout the campaign and is expected to be the big winner of his presidency.
