Asian stocks have fallen sharply as Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House, the BBC reported.

All regional markets closed lower, with money flowing into safe haven stocks, gold and currencies including the yen.

Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped by 5.4% while European and US markets are expected to slide when trading resumes on Wednesday.

Traders had expected a comfortable Hillary Clinton win.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong finished 2.2% lower and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.6%. Australia's ASX 200 finished down 1.9% while the Kospi in South Korea ended 2.7% lower.

US stock futures fell sharply with the Dow Jones index expected to lose more than 4% - 800 points when it reopens. London's FTSE 100 index is predicted to lose more than 3%.