World markets plummet as Trump moves into lead

HONG KONG: 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 haven 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.

Read More: Trump edges past Clinton in battle for US Presidency

"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.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.2 percent at 17,788.90 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.1 percent at 22,427.87

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,115.74

Dollar/Mexican peso: UP at 19.8078 from 18.6152 pesos late Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2406 from $1.2378 Tuesday

Euro/pound: DOWN at 89.30 pence from 89.03 pence

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1150 from $1.1020

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 102.40 yen from 105.14 yen

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $1.50 at $43.48 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN $1.29 at $44.75 per barrel

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

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 6,843.13 (close)