Market volatility expected as Trump wins US presidency

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

The U.S. stock market is expected to experience volatility under President-elect Donald Trump, an expert told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

"There is that uncertainty overhanging with a Trump presidency," according to Steve Goldman, president of trading firm Goldman Management.

"He says things that you cannot get a handle on, day after day, with the assaults and comments ... it's very hard for a money manager to try to grasp the next thing coming out of his mouth.”

When he takes the oath of office in January, Trump can "singlehandedly change" some of the U.S. trade agreements according to Goldman, who added that "there are no checks or balances" against the president-elect since the Republicans retained the House of Representatives.

Trump has said he would get the U.S. out of or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA, and would add tariffs and barriers against Mexican and Chinese imports.

The Mexican peso plunged around 10 percent against the American dollar by 0300 GMT -- its all-time lowest level.

"He is talking about putting up trade barriers that can cause a recession,” Goldman said. “The markets will be a lot more volatile with a Trump presidency.”

The U.S. stock market rose for two days in a row this week to end six consecutive days of losses after the FBI announced Sunday that its review of e-mails would not lead to charges for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

"We were oversold. The market was very oversold going into this week, because of all the election news going around," Mark Kepner, managing director at equity agency and brokerage firm Themis Trading, told Anadolu Agency.

"The last two days there has been a rally. I think it's a combination of the election coming to an end and the FBI ending its investigation," he added.

Stock market futures and the dollar, however, pointed to a downturn late Tuesday as a Trump victory became more likely.

Dow futures plunged as low as 750 points, or 3.3 percent, amid worries Trump's election would take the markets to uncharted territories.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq futures decreased around 5 percent each, before trading was halted.

The dollar was down 0.75 percent against the British pound as of 0615GMT, and 1.75 percent against the euro. The greenback was also down 0.3 percent against the Chinese yuan and 2.8 percent against the Japanese yen, around that time.

"There's too many variables when you're dealing with Donald Trump," Goldman said.