Investors continued to pick out potential winners and losers in the wake of the US election, as the effects of President-elect Donald Trump's policies on growth, inflation, and the Federal Reserve's plans to ease borrowing costs remained in focus. Wall Street set fresh record highs with the S&P 500 closing above 6,000 for the first time on Monday, reflecting gains across the financial, industrial, technology and consumer discretionary sectors. Bitcoin's surge to all-time highs came amid expectations that cryptocurrencies will be another beneficiary of the incoming White House administration. An evolving policy outlook, as well as signs of stubborn price pressures, injected volatility into the Treasury market.

The consumer price index was up 2.6% year-over-year in October, the Labor Department announced on Wednesday, marking the first time in seven months that headline inflation accelerated. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, held firm at 3.3% but was in line with the consensus forecast. As central banks debate their next move, uncertainty around the global economy and geopolitical environment could introduce speed bumps along the path toward lower rates. In a new episode of The Outthinking Investor, former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Spence, and PGIM Fixed Income Head of EM Macroeconomic Research Magdalena Polan discuss how nations are balancing economic and security policies amid intensifying global competition.