Global stocks plunged, the price of gold soared and the dollar slumped on Wednesday in the wake of investors' "horror scenario" - US Republican candidate Donald Trump winning the White House.
The eurozone's blue chip Euro Stoxx 50 index dropped 2.74 per cent in opening trading to 3,940.6 points after sharp falls in bourses across Asia.
On the currency markets, the dollar tumbled about 2 per cent against major global currencies as Trump supporters celebrated his victory over Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.
Trump's win is a "horror scenario for financial markets," said analyst Daniel Saurenz from the investment group Feingold Research.
The US S&P 500 Index futures fell 1.84 per cent after losing as much as 5 per cent ahead of Wednesday's opening, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 1.6 per cent after falling about 4 per cent, Bloomberg reported.
In the meantime, gold surged about 3 per cent to 1,314 dollars an ounce compared with Tuesday prices as investors frantically searched for safe haven investments.
Historically, financial markets have tended to back pro-business Republicans in elections in the world's biggest economy.
But analysts say the uncertainty unleashed by Trump's populism and the protectionist tone to his campaign - including vows to roll back trade agreements - have swung financial markets behind Clinton's candidacy.
"Hillary Clinton is seen as a known candidate, the markets are familiar with her while, with Donald Trump, there's a perception he makes policies on the go," said Julia Lee, an analyst with the investment house Bell Direct.
One barometer of market despair about a Trump win, the Mexican peso, dived more than 10 per cent after the New York billionaire secured the White House amid a wave of panic selling of the currency.
Trump has threatened to rip up US trade agreements with Mexico and to build a wall to halt Mexican migration to the United States.
Stocks markets in Asia and Australia led global bourses downwards, falling sharply as the Trump victory took shape.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 5.36 per cent to end at 16,251.54 after rising nearly 1.5 per cent earlier, while the broader Topix index fell 4.57 per cent to close at 1,301.16.
Export-linked stocks fell sharply as the yen surged against the dollar.
Japanese business leaders are concerned about Trump's fierce opposition to the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. In February, 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the US and Japan, signed the pact.
In Australia, the S&P ASX/200 index was down 101.2 points, or 1.92 per cent, at 5,156.6 points. It was a four-month low. The market lost 35 billion Australian dollars (26 billion US dollars) in value.
China's stocks closed lower with benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.62 per cent at 3,128.37. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.61 per cent at 10,697.11 while the ChiNext Index lost 1.23 per cent at 2,123.84.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 1.95 per cent at 22,462.8 after losing as much as 4.15 per cent.
By Andrew McCathie
