Asian stocks have fallen sharply as Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the race for the top seat at the White House. All regional markets closed lower, with money flowing into safe haven stocks, gold and currencies including the yen.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark 100 index reacted similarly, starting the day as low as 759 points.
Closing Tuesday above the 42,000 mark, the market plummeted down to 41,355 points at 9:40AM responding to the way the US Presidential elections were unfolding.
By noon, it was becoming clear that Trump was going to be elected president, and the resultant uncertainty that had driven the PSX down by 500+ points tapered out, after the 45th President-Elect of the United States, Donald Trump, addressed his supporters and assured the public that he would be president for all of America.
“To all Republicans and Democrats, it’s time for us to come together as one nation. I pledge I will be the President of all America”, Trump said, adding that “It’s been very, very special. Our campaign included people from all backgrounds, religions. We will all work together to make America great again”
By afternoon the Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark 100 index had recovered from all the shock and was down by only 25 points at 42,088 points.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped by 5.4% while European and US markets are expected to slide when trading resumes on Wednesday.
Some analysts have likened the shock of a Trump victory to the Brexit result earlier this year. However neither markets nor currencies have swung as wildly as they did after June’s EU referendum – and many Asian markets saw losses narrow towards the end of Wednesday trading.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong finished 2.2% lower and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.6%. Australia’s ASX 200 finished down 1.9% while the Kospi in South Korea ended 2.7% lower.
US stock futures fell sharply with the Dow Jones index expected to lose more than 4% (800 points) when it reopens. London’s FTSE 100 index is predicted to lose more than 3%.
A victory for Donald Trump has been widely seen as negative for Asia’s economies because of his protectionist rhetoric. He has talked about slapping tariffs on Chinese imports, and punishing companies that send their work overseas.