Despite early panic following the news that Donald Trump was victorious in the US presidential election, stock markets ultimately rallied on Wednesday to finish on an unexpectedly optimistic note in the main.

In the US, there seemed to be a change of mood based on Trump's relatively conciliatory acceptance speech that the president might be different than the candidate. 

The benchmark S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to 2,163, reversing losses in the futures market which had suggested Wall Street would open 5% down.

Pharmaceutical and financial stocks led the charge, based on the belief that both sectors could benefit from Trump's planned loosening of regulations, while construction strengthened off the back of his projected major infrastructure investment.

The latter also ensured the ISEQ closed 2.4% higher, thanks to the 8.5% stock surge for Dublin-based building materials giant CRH. The firm generates as much as 60% of its revenues Stateside, and a significant portion of that comes from the construction of the roads and bridges that Trump feels the US drastically needs to upgrade.

Shares in Bank of America were up 6%, Wells Fargo climbed 5% and JPMorgan rose 5%. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq were both up by close of trading.

The trend continued overnight in Asia with the Nikkei index in Tokyo catching up on its caution of the night before and climbing 6%.

Looking to the longer-term, however, a sell-off in bonds suggested there is still a good deal of uncertainty out there. Future market volatility could arise depending on Trump's moves from this point on.