Republican candidate Donald Trump pulled off a dramatic win to edge past Democratic contender Hillary Clinton in one of the most bitterly contested US Presidential battles.
Scoring unprecedented victories in some states that had been projected to go the Clinton way, Trump achieved the magic number of 270 electoral votes at 1 pm IST to take charge of the White House.
Around 12 pm IST, with projections from most of the states already suggesting a Trump sweep, there was despondency in the Clinton campaign headquarters where many openly wept. Trump supporters were jubilant, repeatedly cheering the Manhattan billionaire.
Early on Wednesday morning, The New York Times – for the first time – gave Trump a whopping 95% chance of becoming the next US President, going against most pundits who had predicted a slim Clinton win in a tightly-fought election.
CNN’s Wednesday projections gave Trump a victory in as many as 22 states, including the battleground states of Ohio and North Carolina, compared to 15 for Clinton.
As forecasts of a Trump victory began to flow in, markets in the US and elsewhere took a big hit. The US Dow fell 3.5 per cent, Australia's S&P ASX/200 lost 1.2 per cent, Japan's Nikkei was down 4.5 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.7 per cent and South Korea's Kospi was down 1.4 per cent.
Trump, who appeared to be the clear loser till a few weeks ago, pulled off wins in Florida and other key states riding on the support of white, working-class and rural voters.
The states which voted for the Republican included Virginia, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Wyoming, North Dakota, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Lousiana, Mississippi and Idaho.
The former Secretary of State's biggest win came from California after early projected victories in New York, Texas, Vermont, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, the District of Columbia and Hawaii.
Tuesday's election capped months of ugly, personal attacks that took a toll on American voters, many of whom were said they were eager for a change in Washington.
Trump's campaign had seen dramatic ups and downs.
Some polls in recent months saw the brash billionaire leading Clinton by a point or two. While it seemed just a few weeks ago that his campaign was doomed after the release of tapes in which he made outrageous sexist comments, Trump was able to spring back.
Trump's numbers surged recently after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) re-opened its investigation into Clinton's email scandal.
The 2016 race for the White House will be remembered for being the contest in which both candidates have unusually high negative rates, with each being despised by certain demographics.
While Trump is highly popular among white blue-collar Americans, he is hated by many single women and Latinos. Clinton is somewhat popular among her own supporters, but deeply distrusted by much of the public.
(IANS inputs)