US stocks tanked more than two percent Wednesday after President Barack Obama's re-election victory set up a tough battle with Republicans over the looming "fiscal cliff".

In closing trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 312.33 points (2.36 percent) at 12,933.35.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 33.78 (2.36 percent) to 1,394.61, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 74.64 (2.48 percent) at 2,937.28.