Republican Donald Trump moved to the brink of winning the White House early on Wednesday, sweeping a series of key battleground states and rattling world markets that had expected Democrat Hillary Clinton to defeat the political outsider.
Trump appeared headed toward a stunning upset of Clinton in a bitter and divisive White House race after capturing Ohio, Florida and other big states, edging closer to slamming the door shut on her quest to become the first woman president.
With investors worried a Trump victory could cause economic and global uncertainty, investors fled risky assets such as stocks. In overnight trading, S&P 500 index futures fell 5 percent to hit their so-called limit down levels, indicating they would not be permitted to trade any lower until dayside trading resumed on Wednesday morning.
