Markets to stand still until US election is over

OANDA strategist Jeffrey Halley was perhaps among the first to seriously consider the possibility that US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump could win the upcoming election when he wrote in August that thus far, (Trump's) opponents had apparently failed to grasp the depth of emotion he was tapping into and were seemingly, consistently, underestimating him.

"His aim is squarely at the four swing states he needs," wrote Mr Halley in his Asia in H2: Beware the Orange Swan. "Yet, in an echo of the sentiment prior to the Brexit vote, the market hasn't priced in anything other than a Hillary Clinton victory."

"This is a mistake. The election will be much closer than anyone at the moment seems to think," said Mr Halley, adding that with Mr Trump's "extreme protectionist manifesto, this could spell major negative sentiment for Asia, as the region is very export-dependent".