With Republican presidential nominee Trump declaring victory, U.S. Steel (X.US) rose more than 6% before the market opened on Wednesday, as the market expects the U.S. steel producer to benefit if Trump takes measures like imposing tariffs on imported steel as he did in 2018.
Other U.S. steel stocks also rose. As of the writing, Nucor (NUE.US) rose nearly 11%, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF.US) rose over 11%, Steel Dynamics (STLD.US) rose nearly 9%, and Reliance (RS.US) rose nearly 3%. In addition, Alcoa (AA.US) rose over 2%, Century Aluminum (CENX.US) rose over 3%.
It was reported that the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on imported steel and 10% tariffs on imported aluminum in 2018. The World Trade Organization said at the time that these tariffs violated global trade rules. These tariffs were later revoked by the Biden administration in 2021.
It is worth noting that Trump previously said that if he became president, he would block Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel for nearly $15 billion. The review of the transaction by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has been delayed until after the U.S. presidential election.