A picture of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hangs outside a house in West Des Moines, Iowa, United States, January 15, 2016. Jim Young/Reuters Stocks surged on Wednesday following a chaotic night in the markets, which ended with a surprise victory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election.

In the final hour of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 312 points to cross its prior record high on a closing basis of 18,613.52.

Drug stocks and private-prison stocks soared, while gun stocks plummeted and Obamacare stocks got slammed.

As for why stocks bounced back so quickly from the night before, Julian Jessop of Capital Economics argued in a note that there could be various factors including underlying fundamentals, the market precedent set by Brexit, and the fact that "there are hopes that the checks and balances in the US political system will prevent [Trump] from doing that much too radical anyway in terms of domestic policy, especially fiscal policy."

First up, the scoreboard:

Dow: 1 8, 589.69 , + 256.95 , (+ 1.40 %)

1 , + , (+ %) S&P 500: 2, 163.26 , + 23.70 , (+ 1.11 %)

2, , + , (+ %) Nasdaq: 5, 163.26 , + 57.58 , (+ 1.11 %)

5, , + , (+ %) WTI crude oil: $45.37, +$0.39, (+0.87%)

ADDITIONALLY:

The rise of American populism could change the game in the Asia Pacific.

Obamacare is close to death after Trump's election.

IAN BREMMER: A Trump win makes the US a big loser internationally.

Housing could become even less affordable under President Trump.

The kiwi went bananas.