HONG KONG, Nov 9, (APP/AFP) – Markets went into
free fall Wednesday and the Mexican peso tanked as Donald Trump appeared to be moving into the lead in the race for the White House.
Safe have assets rallied as investors went running for cover, with
the yen and gold rushing higher.
Initial confidence that market favourite Hillary Clinton would win
the knife-edge race was wiped out as results showed the firebrand tycoon appeared to be heading for victory in the must-win state of Florida.
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 top economy.
“Put your seat belts on because this is going to be a bumpy ride,”
Chad Morganlander, a money manager at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jersey told Bloomberg News.
“Investors will be moving in a chaotic fashion to get ahead of the
information flow.”
Tokyo ended the morning session 2.2 percent down, having been up more
than one percent at one point, while Hong fell 2.1 percent and Shanghai sank one percent.
Sydney gave up 1.7 percent, Seoul shed 1.7 percent and Singapore
dived 1.4 percent. There were also losses of more than one percent for Taipei and Jakarta.
Futures on the Dow on Wall Street plunged 2.6 percent.
Tomoichiro Kubota, a senior analyst at Matsui Securities in Tokyo,
said: “Overall, the market has priced in a Hillary victory by about 80 to 90 percent. If Trump wins, we can’t deny the possibility of wild moves.”
The Mexican peso — which was battered by Trump’s anti-immigrant
rhetoric earlier in the campaign — tumbled towards record lows against the dollar.
The greenback at one point hit 19.8619 pesos up almost 10 percent
from its earlier low and close to its record of 19.93 pesos.
The peso is considered a proxy of Trump’s chances because of his
anti-Mexican rhetoric — including his pledge to remove undocumented
immigrants, build a border wall and tear 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 at 102.40 yen, down from above 105 Tuesday.
The euro also rose one percent against the dollar, while gold soared
1.6 percent to $1,305.
Oil prices plunged, with WTI sinking 3.3 percent and Brent 2.8
percent lower.