BEIJING (AFP) - A Chinese company whose name sounds like "Trump wins big" saw its stock surge on Wednesday (Nov 9) as the Republican candidate's odds improved in the US presidential poll.

Shares in Shenzhen-listed Wisesoft, a computer software company whose Chinese name "chuan da zhi sheng" is a homophone for "Trump wins big", rose 4.6 per cent by the noon break, even as the wider market fell.

At the same time shares in the Yunnan Xiyi Industrial company, whose name sounds like the Mandarin word for "Hillary shares" plunged 9.5 per cent on the Shenzhen exchange.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.32 per cent to 3,106.23 and the Shenzhen Composite Index was off 1.39 per cent to 2,051.62.

Mainland Chinese stock exchanges have an unusually high proportion of non-professional investors, and have been criticised for casino-like behaviour, with insider trading and dramatic swings in share prices seemingly unconnected to underlying business prospects.

The US presidential election has drawn widespread interest in China, with people sharing images of the rolling election results on the popular social media platform WeChat.

Despite Mr Trump's tough talk on China's trade policies, he has some admirers in the country.

Global markets slumped on the swing towards Mr Trump, with the Republican projected to win key states and increasingly likely to carry an election that had previously seemed secure for Mrs Clinton.

Indian stocks plunged 6 per cent, Tokyo shares dropped 5.5 per cent and Hong Kong shares fell just under 3 per cent in morning trading.