Markets collapse on news of Trump win

Markets around the world have been plunged into turmoil on the news that Donald Trump won the US presidential race.

The US dollar sank and stocks plummeted on Wednesday as investors faced a shock win by the Republican candidate, which is expected to have many political ramifications.

Investors are panicked over uncertainties on trade, immigration and geopolitical tensions, sending Dow futures and Asian stock prices sharply lower.

Trump has threatened to rip up trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and greatly restrict immigration to the US and to build a wall along the United States' southern border and force Mexico to pay for it. 

Japan's major index recorded its largest drop in years, nosediving more than 6.1 percent while Dow, the benchmark of stock measurements, plunged more than 4 percent.

Top officials from Japan's central bank and finance ministry were to meet later Wednesday to discuss how to cope with the confusion in financial markets.

European stocks also sank in opening deals. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 1.87 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dived 2.9 percent and the Paris CAC 40 index slid 2.8 percent.

Russian markets, however, largely resisted the global tumble, bolstered by hopes Trump may ease biting Western sanctions against Moscow.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump for his victory, hoping to work with him to improve relations.

In Tehran, the TEDPIX index dropped 1.8 percent to 78,411.6 at 4:30 p.m. local time, but a market expert as saying that the loss was temporary and predicting a recovery at the weekend. 

"Trump's election as the American president has no impact on Iran's economy and through national consensus, we will remain immune from foreign effects on our economy," head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce Massoud Khansari said. 

Masoud Gholampour, an analyst at Novin Investment Bank in Tehran, said, "The markets in Iran were generally expecting Clinton to win and this has had an impact on pretty much all sectors in the stock exchange. Oil has come down, gold has gone up by $5.”

“The market is showing a negative reaction in general because the nuclear deal could be affected,” he added.

Iran’s currency depreciated to 36,600 per dollar in unregulated trading at 1 p.m. in Tehran from 36,310 on Tuesday morning.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday he would need to clarify with the United States Iran's nuclear deal agreement which Trump has vowed to tear up. 

The remarks came a day after France's Total signed a preliminary $4.8 billion gas agreement with Iran, the first such deal after the nuclear accord.

The dollar plunged against a basket of other leading currencies. It fell 3.5 percent against the yen while the euro rose to $1.1233 from $1.1020.

The price of gold, which is regarded as a buffer by investors in times of uncertainty, rose 3.7 percent. 

In the energy markets, the international benchmark Brent crude slid $1.07, or 2.4 percent, to $44.96 a barrel in London. US crude futures lost $1.26, or 2.7 percent, to $43.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The turmoil on Wednesday recalled the Brexit moment when Britain's surprise vote to leave the European Union in a referendum in June rocked markets across the world.

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