The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 87.77 points (0.91 per cent) to 9,537.51 in opening trades and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 21.45 points (1.20 per cent) to 1,758.67.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 9.13 points (0.91 per cent) to 966.62.

On Tuesday Wall Street staged a powerful rally as Americans headed to the polls, with investors hoping that a new president would bring relief from the global financial crisis.

The Dow surged 305.45 points (3.28 per cent) to 9,625.28, the Nasdaq added 53.79 points (3.12 per cent) to 1,780.12, and the S&P 500 powered a whopping 39.45 points (4.08 per cent) higher to 1,005.75.

Mr Obama, an African-American Illinois senator campaigning for change after eight years under the Republican administration of President George W. Bush, defeated Republican John McCain late on Tuesday to become the 44th US president.

Mr Obama faces a global financial crisis and a host of domestic problems in the economy, including rising unemployment, falling home values and slowing exports, when he takes office on Jan 20.

'While the path of change in our nation's political and social history took an awesome step forward last night, the uncertainty over the path of change the new administration will start walking in Jan is apt to be a limiting factor for the stock market in the near-term,' said Mr Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

'Given the state the economy and the capital markets are in, it is hard to fathom a tax hike being pushed through early in the new administration,' he said. -- AFP