U.S. equity futures plunged on election night, but pared losses in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Fox Business reported yesterday. With Donald Trump looking to emerge victorious throughout the night, traders rushed to reassess the outcome of the vote, and its impact on financial markets. They piled into safe havens like gold and government debt. The precious metal rallied as much as 4.68 percent, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond, which moves inversely to its price, declined 0.137 percentage points to 1.73 percent. Meanwhile, the Mexican peso plunged 11.54 percent, its lowest-ever level against the U.S. dollar. The currency has been seen as Wall Street’s favorite proxy for betting on the presidential race during the 2016 election cycle. As Trump’s prospects of winning looked better, especially with the tight race in Florida, the peso dropped. Dow futures plunged nearly 800 points during the night’s volatile trade, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell sharply in sympathy. Futures pointed to a 2.2 percent opening loss for the S&P 500. The night’s action threatened to wipe out 2016 gains on both the S&P and Nasdaq at the opening bell on Wednesday.
