The main stock indexes in Europe have started trading on Wednesday with strong declines following victory of the Republican Donald Trump for president of the United States, which is the largest export market of the region, reports Bloomberg.

Trump's victory is bad news for European companies which obtain the majority of income in America.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index began on Wednesday with a lost of 1.8 percent. Banks and automakers led declines amid a stronger euro.

The euro earlier rose as much as 2.5 percent against the dollar.

Germany’s DAX Index lost 1.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 Index fell 1.37 percent and U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid 0.5 percent.

Spain, Portugal and Italy posted the biggest losses in Europe.

Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, which has high exposure to emerging markets, lost 6.2 percent, while Banco Santander SA fell 2 percent.

Credit Suisse Group AG, reliant on America for more than a third of its revenue, retreated 3.5 percent.

German carmaker Daimler AG dropped 5 percent.

Trump's victory is another blow for the European Union facing the British vote for Brexit.

"A Trump win is expected to damage trade," said James Butterfill, head of research and investment strategy at ETF Securities in London.

"Another problem for Europe is that there’s a populist wave going on, and this adds momentum to that. It’s worrying because we have so many elections coming up over here," added Butterfill.

European companies get about 17 percent of their total revenue from North America, with those in Belgium, Ireland and Switzerland among the most exposed, Morgan Stanley estimated in May. 

Through Tuesday, the Stoxx 600 had already lost about twice as much as the S&P 500 Index since a high on September 5.

Source: News.ro