Seemingly, the biggest impact came from Donald Trump's emphasis on infrastructure spending in his victory speech.

The thought that the US government could significantly increase its spending in order to boost economic activity gave a boost to many stocks, especially in the construction and heavy equipment sectors.

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However, stocks that benefitted from foreign trade, like auto companies, suffered.

Still, the general sentiment amongst investors seems to be one of political conciliation, relative stability and economic optimism (which may or may not be justified).

Across Europe, Italy, Germany, and France have very important elections coming up over the next 12 months.

Anti-establishment candidates (like Donald Trump) in these countries have, to varying degrees, seen their popularity increase. Investors will have to consider the impact for markets of potential political "surprises" over the coming year.