Global stocks rise ahead of US elections outcome
Investor concerns over the close race between the US presidential nominees is keeping markets across the world buoyant.
Stocks will remain relatively calm in case of a win by Clinton, according to some analysts with traders generally favoring the Democratic candidate due to the apparent predictability on economic policies.
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.4 percent. Nikkei dropped 0.1, while Japan's broad Topix grew 0.1 percent. The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 104.4 per dollar following Monday's losses.
China’s bourses gained a little, with the Shanghai Composite growing by 0.6 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 0.25 percent after weak trade data on both imports and exports. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added just 0.1 percent.
The UK's main share index FTSE 100 rose in early trade by 4.56 points. The pan-European STOXX 600 was trading 0.2 percent higher by 0933 GMT, after surging 1.5 percent in the previous session. France's CAC 40 is expected to open flat with Germany's DAX to be up 0.1 percent.
“As markets head into the US election, a final recalibration of risk is in train,” warns CMC Markets of Sydney’s chief strategist Michael McCarthy, as quoted by Reuters.
The S&P 500 climbed 2.1 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 2.2 percent, Monday, recording their biggest one-day percentage gain since the beginning of March.
Continued vigilance on the part of the election’s outcome had its impact on the major currencies. The dollar edged slightly lower following its Monday advance. The euro, which dropped 9 percent on Monday, was flat at $1.10435.
Concerns over the stronger dollar and doubts over OPEC's planned output capping left crude oil futures mixed. Brent rose 0.2 percent to $46.25, extending Monday's 1.3 percent jump, while US crude slipped 0.1 percent to $44.87 a barrel, after advancing 1.9 percent the previous day.
