Shares in Japan hit a 29-year high with Japan’s main share index – the Nikkei 225 – closing up 2.1%.

In China, the Shanghai Composite was up by almost 2%, Hong Kong shares rose 1.5%, and the ASX200 in Sydney finished up 1.74%.

In the UK the FTSE 100 topped the 6,000 mark for the first time in a month, jumping by as much as 1.7%, in early trading. Indices in France and Germany saw similar increases.

The overall sentiment washing through markets has been one of relief that a US president has been declared after days of uncertainty, and four chaotic years under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Biden’s defeat of Trump has eased fears about a continuation of a damaging trade war between the US and China, the world’s two biggest economies. Biden has also pledged to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

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Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ”Stocks in Asia continued an exuberant rally, on hopes a Biden presidency would thaw trade relations, and that appears to have had a knock on effect on the FTSE 100 which has seen a post-election bounce this morning. But gains are likely to be held back as the focus returns to Brexit, with a trade deal still yet to be agreed.

“An incoming Biden administration is certainly not going to offer an easy path to a trade deal between UK and the US and could even determine the shape of relations between Britain and the EU. Joe Biden has already expressed disapproval of proposals for the UK to potentially break international law on certain aspects of the withdrawal agreement, which is likely to concentrate minds at No.10.”

Stuart Clark, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors, said: “After days of waiting for the mail to arrive, over the weekend we finally got a result in the presidential election. So long as there are no legal surprises over the coming weeks the US has a new president-elect in the shape of Democrat Joe Biden. We suspect this won’t be the last we hear of the Trump’s but for now one element of the uncertainty is resolved. One question to be asking in the future may be which, if any, of the family appears on the GOP ticket in 2024.

“That said, the US political system continues to throw curveballs when least expected. There will be a run-off election in Georgia for the remaining senate seats in January and this is likely to decide whether or not Biden can enact his agenda and push through the policies he promised to introduce. Without it, we very much see the status quo dominating once again.

“For now, however, markets seem to be embracing the news and have not been too unsettled by the lack of clarity last week brought. For long-term investors it goes to show that this election is a timely reminder to block out the noise and not be swayed by certain political events.”