Elon Musk and David Sacks, both White House advisers, weighed in separately on the election in Eastern Europe.

Defeating populists never signals an easy return to the status quo ante.

JPMorgan said on Monday that an election win by Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan is reducing political risk ahead and that a sovereign ratings downgrade to below investment grade was now less of a concern.

Hard-right nationalist George Simion could win Romania’s presidential election run-off on Sunday – a vote being held five months after the original election was annulled.

Romania’s assets staged a relief rally after a centrist candidate defeated his nationalist opponent in the presidential election, with investor focus now shifting to how quickly a new government can fix the state’s finances.

There was a wave of euphoria and relief across Europe following the election of pro-European liberal Nicusor Dan as Romania’s new president. Moldovan President Maia Sandu echoed the sentiment: “Congratulations,

But Nicușor Dan, the independent mayor of Bucharest who scraped past his opponents to qualify for the run-off with 21 per cent, has caught up in opinion polls and is counting on the huge turnout to tip the scales in his favour.