U.S. stock indexes rallied sharply Wednesday as the initial shock quickly faded from Donald Trump's victory in the country's presidential election. Near the end of trading, the three main U.S. stock barometers were all ahead by more than a percentage point. European stocks also advanced by more than 1 percent. Asian markets fell sharply as the vote count in the United States late Tuesday made it apparent that the billionaire real-estate mogul was headed to an unexpected win. European stock indexes were down as much as 2.7 percent early Wednesday, but those losses moderated and then turned up in later trading. Asian markets In Asia, Japan's NIKKEI lost nearly 5.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down more than 2.3 percent. Many traders moved money into safe investments like gold, whose price rose 3.7 percent. In Bangkok, Vikas Kawatra of SCB Securities told VOA the downturn highlighted uncertainties about Trump's promises to deregulate business and make drastic changes in U.S. trade policies. Billionaire investor and Trump supporter Carl Icahn told The Wall Street Journal that Trump plans to cut regulations and that will help business grow over the long term. Other analysts in New York told VOA that Trump's drive to cut regulation could be helpful to the oil drilling and banking sectors. But they also said Trump's restrictive trade policies could hurt overseas revenue for multinational companies. VOA's Jill Malandrino and Ron Corben contributed to this report.