Markets, dollar plunge as Trump inches closer to win

An investor rests in a chair in front of screens showing stock market movements at a securities company in Beijing on November 9, 2016. Stock markets around the region plunged in morning trading on November 9 as incoming results from the US presidential election suggested Donald Trump was leading markets favourite Hillary Clinton in the White House race. / AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO

Share markets collapsed Wednesday and the dollar tumbled against the yen and the euro as Donald Trump looked on course to win the White House, in a stunning upset with major implications for the world economy.

The Mexican peso also fell to a record low as safe haven assets rallied, with gold soaring more than five percent, while fears about the impact on financial markets led Japanese and South Korean authorities to each call crisis talks.

Initial confidence that market favorite Hillary Clinton would win was wiped out as results showed the firebrand tycoon picking up the major scalps needed to take the White House.

Markets have been plunged into turmoil as Clinton is considered by many investors to be a safer bet than Trump, who is seen as a loose cannon with policies many fear could wreck the world’s number-one economy.

“It’s been a bloodbath in the markets over the last few hours with the Mexican peso suffering particularly badly as Donald Trump edges ever closer to the White House,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

Tokyo collapsed 5.4 percent by the end of trade, while in the afternoon Hong fell three percent and Shanghai sank 0.6 percent.

Sydney gave up almost two percent, Seoul shed 2.3 percent and Singapore dived 1.8 percent. Wellington plunged 3.3 percent while Taipei was 3.0 percent off. Manila skidded 2.5 percent and Jakarta 2.3 percent.

The Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange was 3.3 percent off having initially plummeted more than six percent as Trump’s impressive performance was mixed with news that high denomination notes were being pulled from circulation as part of a crackdown on tax evasion.

Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street dived more than five percent at one point while those on the Dow were off four percent. Futures on London’s FTSE 100 were also down more than four percent.

Memories of Brexit

“It’s quite scary,” Nader Naeimi, the Sydney-based head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors, said.

“The slightest move towards Trump moved the market very quickly.”

The Mexican peso — which was battered by Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric earlier in the campaign — hit a record low against the dollar.

The greenback soared to 20.7128 pesos, around its highest ever point and about 12 percent up on earlier levels, before paring back slightly.

The peso has been hammered as Trump’s anti-Mexican promises have included a pledge to remove undocumented immigrants, building a border wall and tearing up a trade deal.

However the dollar tumbled against the yen as investors rushed into the Japanese unit, which is considered a safe bet in times of uncertainty and turmoil. The greenback was hovering just above 101 yen, having sat above 105 Tuesday.

The sharp moves led Japan’s central bank and government to hold emergency talks as a stronger yen hammers the country’s crucial exporters.

It later emerged that Seoul’s financial regulatory body would hold an emergency meeting with executives at major local banks to monitor impact of the result. The South Korean won was down 1.3 percent.

The euro also rose 2.1 percent against the dollar, while gold soared 5.4 percent at one point — its biggest rally since Britain’s June vote to leave the EU, which also jolted markets.

“For the second time this year it looks as though markets have got a little ahead of themselves when it comes to predicting the outcome of a major vote,” OANDA’s Erlam added.

High-yielding currencies in Asia-Pacific were battered against the dollar, with Australia’s dollar 0.9 percent off, Indonesia’s rupiah down 0.8 percent and the Malaysian ringgit 0.4 percent lower.

Oil prices plunged, with both main contracts more than two percent down.

Key figures around 07:00 GMT

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 5.4 percent at 16,251.54 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 3.1 percent at 22,200.45

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,128.37 (close)

Dollar/Mexican peso: UP at 20.2677 from 18.6152 pesos late Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2581 from $1.2378 Tuesday

Euro/pound: UP at 90.07 pence from 89.03 pence

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1240 from $1.1020

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 101.30 yen from 105.14 yen

Oil – West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $1.22 at $43.76 per barrel

Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN $1.08 to $44.96 per barrel

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 18,332.43 (close)