The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has taken a violent turn south on the latest results for the U.S. presidential election.
While Australian shares began the session in sensational fashion, quickly rising more than 1%, the main bourse has now fallen 90 points or 1.5% to 5,165 points. At the time of writing, there are only 15 shares from the ASX 200 trading in positive territory, with the gold miners the clear leaders.
Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL), for instance, has soared 7.1%. Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) is up 6.2% and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) is up 5.5%, while EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) have gained 4.8% and 4.1%, respectively.
Elsewhere, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) have all dropped more than 1%.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) was up strongly this morning but has since tanked 2.5% lower, while Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) have dropped 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
Among the biggest losers for the day are Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYC), Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT). The trio are all trading between 7.6% and 11.5% lower, with Aristocrat being the worst of the three.
Today's session will no doubt bring back memories for investors who watched their screens on June 24, when Britons took part in the Brexit vote. Markets swung wildly for the day and ended the session significantly lower when the result was made clear.
Shares could continue to fall today, and likely will if Trump does take the presidency. As hard as it may seem, the important thing is to remain calm. The market is in a panic and frantically exiting positions right now, but the volatility will pass.
