International businesses and global markets have reacted with alarm and concern to the news that Republican candidate Donald Trump has won the US presidential election.

Mr Trump, considered a rank outsider in the presidential race when he first announced his candidacy in June 2015, has defied the polls by emerging victorious over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton after a tightly-contested and bitterly-fought election campaign.

News of the shock result has created considerable anxiety among global investors and trading partners, as the politically inexperienced president-elect has stoked conflict during his campaign and expressed a number of strong protectionist sentiments, leading to fears his presidency will be damaging to the international free trade agenda.

Immediate consequences of the election news included a sharp drop in the value of the US dollar and Mexican peso, a five per cent decline for Japan's Nikkei index, a 130-point slump for London's FTSE 100, and a rise in the price of gold to more than $40 (€36.04) an ounce.

The impact was similar to the market and currency slump seen after the UK voted to leave the European Union earlier this year, defying expectations of a result in favor of remaining. However, many of these latest losses have stabilized following Mr Trump's acceptance speech, which took a more conciliatory and internationalist tone than his campaign rhetoric.

Since Mr Trump spoke, the FTSE 100 index recovered its losses and resumed flat trading, while the US dollar regained a position only slightly lower against the euro. Nevertheless, concerns remain that a Trump presidency may have a negative impact on global trade.

Jeremy Cook, chief economist at money broker World First, said: "The great unknown is the economic policy, based around a trade war with Mexico - its third largest trading partner - and China, its biggest trading partner. Brexit was about UK instability; Trump is about global instability."