A U.S. flag is projected on the facade of the U.S. Embassy, during the U.S. Presidential election, in London, Britain, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Republican Donald Trump has won the 2016 US presidential election, beating Democrat Hillary Clinton, who was hoping to become the country’s first woman president.
Although the Democratic Party announced that Clinton would not make a speech conceding defeat, she did call Trump, before he made a victory speech.
Trump, who went into Election Day as the underdog, has enacted what a spectacular victory, sweeping states thought to have been a given for Clinton. Trump is projected to have won the big states of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, as well as many others like Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, Missouri, Idaho, Nebraska, Alabama, Alaska and Utah.
Meanwhile, Clinton is projected to have won California (which has a massive 55 electoral college votes), as well as Washington, Nevada, New York, New Mexico, Virginia, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon and Connecticut.
Credit: Mike Maguire/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Markets react to a likely Trump presidency
The US dollar sank and stock markets slammed into reverse in wild Asian trade on Wednesday as the results so far showed the race to be a nail-biter, sending investors stampeding to safe-haven assets.
Sovereign bonds and gold shot higher while the Mexican peso went into near free-fall as investors faced the possibility of a Trump win. Investors worry a victory by the New York businessman could cause economic and global uncertainty.The Nikkei is down 2.77%, ASX by 1.34%, Kopsi in Seoul by 1.64% and Hang Sen by 1.88%. Dow Futures is down by more 600 points.
The Mexican Peso has dropped in value by around 7%, its sharpest fall in 20 years.
The Sensex plunged over 1,400 points in early morning trade, but recovered around 400 points. Market analysts point out that today will likely be extremely volatile.
Republicans retain control of Congress
The Republicans have in all likelihood retained control of the Senate, as well as the House of Representatives. This could only mean good things for the new administration’s policymaking, provided the party can rally around Trump.
(With Reuters inputs)
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