Investors gird for life under Mamdani

They hope mayor will moderate positions

- LEWIS KRAUSKOPF SAEED AZHAR

An advertisement for betting on the New York City mayoral election, in Times Square in New York City on Tuesday.

(REUTERS)

Wall Street braced for change with the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City on Tuesday, an outcome set to reverberate in the heart of global capitalism as financiers worry about the city's competitiveness and business appeal.

Investors watching the results of governors' races in other states were also analysing wins by Democratic candidates, saying they could be seen as evidence of renewed strength for the party against President Donald Trump's Republicans ahead of next year's midterm elections.

In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger easily won the election for governor, becoming the first woman elected to that role. And in New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill also won the governor's race by a large margin.

Mr Mamdani's win "will be an interesting experiment and we'll see how much he tries to really change New York City and how he is accepted," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. Looking collectively at the New York City race and the Democratic victories in New Jersey and Virginia, Mr Ghriskey said, "It's a fairly strong mandate against the administration in Washington."