WASHINGTON _ Financial markets tumbled Tuesday night, with futures for the Dow Jones industrial average plunging more than 700 points, as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's surprisingly strong performance triggered anxiety among investors.
Dow futures were off about 4 percent. Futures also dropped nearly 5 percent for the Nasdaq and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index as Trump threatened to upset Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and shatter expectations on Wall Street and financial centers around the world.
Stocks were down about 2 percent in early morning trading across Asia while gold rallied as a safe haven.
The Mexican peso fell about 8.5 percent to a record low against the dollar. Trump has promised to build a wall along the U.S. southern border to halt undocumented immigration and rewrite or scrap the two-decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Trump's tough talk on trade throughout the campaign �� he also opposes the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership with Asian nations �� has fueled concerns among investors of a slowdown in global trade and a possible U.S. recession should he be elected president.
U.S. markets were down all last week after Trump's prospects improved after FBI Director James Comey's announcement that the agency was reviewing new emails connected to Clinton. Comey's statement Sunday that the new emails produced nothing to cause the bureau to recommend charges against Clinton led the Dow to surge 371 points on Monday as Trump's presidential prospects appeared to take a hit.
But Trump's strong showing Tuesday in key battleground states such as Florida and Michigan caused a new round of investor fears in the U.S. and abroad. Japan's Nikkei index was down 2.2 percent in early trading while Australia's ASX 200 index was off about 2.8 percent.
