Peru election sparks record market fall

News of the likely victory of leftist Ollanta Humala in Peru's presidential election has sparked a record fall on the country's share market.

Peruvian stocks registered their biggest-ever daily fall - dropping by 12.45% and trading was suspended early.

Other share markets in the region were also affected, with the MSCI Latin American index down by 2.2%.

With most voting results in, Peru's right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori admitted defeat.

Investors worry that Mr Humala will increase state control over the economy and be lax about government spending.

He comes from a left-wing tradition of greater state intervention and has promised that the country's poor will share more of the country's wealth.

His critics fear he will embark on interventionist policies similar to those of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, although Mr Humala says he is more in sympathy with Brazil's moderate left-wing approach.

Mining stocks were hit particularly hard as investors braced themselves for the imposition of a windfall tax on the wealthy sector - one of Mr Humala's election promises.

Mexican mining company Grupo Mexico, which owns mines in Peru, fell by 7.47%.