The US dollar sank and stocks plummeted on Wednesday as investors faced the prospect of 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.
Currency markets were also jolted, with the dollar plunging 3.5 percent against the yen.
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 last June rocked markets across the world.
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