Global stock markets sank Wednesday after Republican maverick Donald Trump won the US presidency, fanning fears over the world economy, but London attempted a brief rebound in exceptionally volatile trade.

Asian equities kicked off the rout, with Tokyo nosediving on investor concerns over the untested policies of the incoming president, who has scored a shock victory over Democrat and market favourite Hillary Clinton.

Europe followed suite, tipping two percent lower in Frankfurt, London and Paris, but the British market rebounded briefly into slender gains after Trump's conciliatory acceptance speech.

"We have seen the market reaction be nowhere near as bad as it might have been -- we could yet see a big pullback," said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson.

"Just like Brexit the longer term implications of this vote are much harder to discern and forcing investors to take stock.”

"For now markets look like they are in limbo, maybe waiting for the US open for direction," he told AFP.

Investors fled to safe-haven assets, with gold prices rising more than five percent and German government bonds rallying.

"While we have seen a small correction over the last couple of hours, we are still seeing significant risk aversion throughout the markets," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

"The uncertainty this brings could weigh on sentiment in the short term. Trump's initial comments appear to have helped ease concerns a little."

- 'Huge leap into unknown' -

Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, noted there were "significant" worries over Trump's policies.

"Clinton was a continuation of the status quo, whereas Trump is a huge leap into the unknown, so investors, as well as the wider public, have significant concerns about what he will do and whether he is up to the job," O'Keeffe said.

"Trump is likely to cut taxes, invest in US infrastructure, be very pro-growth at home but be highly protectionist when it comes to the rest of the world."

The incoming president insists he could bring jobs back to America by renegotiating international trade deals.

"Trump has never held elected office before and therefore the political uncertainty associated with his presidency has been amplified," Rabobank analyst Jane Foley said.

"The biggest concerns relate to potential trade spats given his protectionist stance which have negative effects for the global economy."

The president-elect has repeatedly vowed to ruthlessly pursue growth of the world's biggest economy.

- 'Sea change' in US politics -

“Equities opened to a sea change in the US political landscape,” noted AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“The conciliatory tone in Trump's victory speech helped to cushion the impact."

Initial confidence that Clinton would win vanished as results showed the firebrand tycoon picking up the major scalps needed to take the White House.

After he won a swathe of states, Clinton called Trump to concede.

"Implications are unknown as we need to see if (Trump) really wants follow through on what he pledged," Accendo Markets analyst Mike van Dulken said.

"Now he has the votes and has won, does he need to be so controversial, something that has struck fear into the hearts of global investors?"

Tokyo stocks collapsed 5.4 percent and Hong fell 2.2 percent.

Russian stocks however rose on hopes of improving US relations after Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump.

The Mexican peso -- which was battered by Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric earlier in the campaign -- hit a record low against the dollar.

The greenback soared to 20.7818 pesos, which was a record high.

Trump's anti-Mexican promises have included a pledge to remove undocumented immigrants, build a border wall and tear up a trade deal.

- Key figures at 1000 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,827.81

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.9 percent at 10,392

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 4,425.30

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.4 percent at 2,981.80

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 5.4 percent at 16,251.54 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.2 percent at 22,415.19 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,128.37 (close)

Dollar/Mexican peso: UP at 19.9156 pesos from 18.3329 pesos

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2414 from $1.2378 Tuesday

Euro/pound: UP at 89.29 pence from 89.03 pence

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1086 from $1.1020

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 103.37 yen from 105.86 yen

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 51 cents at $44.47 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 12 cents at $46.27

New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 18,332.43 (close)

Source: AFP