U.S. stock markets futures, Asian markets fall on Donald Trump winning President prospects

Published 9:56 pm Tuesday, November 8, 2016

U.S. Dow Jones (DJIA) futures fell hard tonight, down more than 600 points at the same time bonds rallied at the prospects that Donald Trump might win the presidential election 2016 over Hillary Clinton.

Investors moved into bonds and stocks cratered as traders questioned whether Democrat Hillary Clinton could win the race, as expected, reports CNBC. The Mexican peso fell sharply against the U.S. dollar. Asian markets have plummeted as well with jitters over the tonight’s presidential election results.

“I would say the market is a bit more cautious as it doesn’t seem to be such a quick and decisive victory for Hillary as it seemed,” said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rate strategy at BMO, told CNBC. “But it’s not over yet.”

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Asian shares have shed early gains, tumbling Wednesday as Donald Trump gained the lead in the electoral vote count in the presidential election. Earlier, investors had appeared persuaded that Hillary Clinton, seen as a more stable choice, would prevail.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.5 percent to 16,741.84 and the S&P ASX/200 in Australia slipped 0.2 percent to 5,249.40. South Korea’s Kospi skidded 0.6 percent to 1,991.11 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 1.4 percent to 22,582.11. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2 percent to 3,142.94. Benchmarks were higher in Malaysia and Indonesia but fell in Taiwan and Singapore.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.