Orsted leads wind power selloff after Trump’s ‘loopy’ whales declare

U.S. networks have declared Trump the victor as he surpassed the 270 electoral college votes required to take the presidency after flipping swing states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Trump has been an outspoken opponent of offshore wind, repeating false claims that they drive whales “crazy” and lead to their deaths throughout his latest campaign for the presidency. In May, Trump said he planned to scrap offshore wind projects on “day one” in the Oval Office.

That context wasn’t lost on investors, who sent Orsted’s share price plunging by as much as 14% in early morning trading on Wednesday.

Orsted has come to blows with Republicans for wind projects in the U.S. in recent years, with its CEO, Mads Nipper, calling the country “the most painful part of our portfolio.”

The group wrote off $4 billion last year due to two canceled offshore wind projects in New Jersey. As a result of the pullout, it is set to pay New Jersey $125 million. 

New Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew hailed Orsted’s withdrawal as a victory last year, comparing it to David succeeding over Goliath. 

It also caught the attention of wind energy skeptic Trump.

“This monstrosity required massive government subsidies, and ultimately, just didn’t work,” Trump wrote of the canceled Orsted projects on his social media platform Truth Social last year.

Alongside Orsted, fellow Danish wind company Vestas also experience a heavy selloff, falling in value by nearly 10% as of 1 pm local time.

European stock markets rise

While renewable energy companies’ calculations were an early victim of Trump’s victory, Europe’s wider stock market didn’t experience the selloff some may have expected.

European stock markets rallied on Wednesday in the wake of Trump’s convincing victory, contrasting with consternation over what a second Trump term could mean for the continent’s economy and security.

The FTSE 100 rose by 1.2% by 11:30 am, while the Eurostoxx 600 was also up by around the same amount. 

One of the biggest risers on the London Stock Exchange was Baillie Gifford’s U.S. Growth Trust, which invests in U.S.-domiciled or listed companies. The index increased by 5.2% in early trading.

The JPMorgan US Smaller Companies Investment Trust, a U.K.-listed fund that seeks to invest in emerging U.S. companies, enjoyed a double-digit increase.

U.S. stocks jumped in pre-market trading following news that Trump had won the presidency. The S&P 500 jumped 2.3% pre-market, with Elon Musk’s Tesla the big winner as it surged nearly 15%. Musk put his financial might behind Trump during the campaign and is expected to be a big winner from his presidency.