Global stocks are mixed as investors look to the US election

Global shares were mixed on Tuesday, with major Asian benchmarks gaining more than 1% as investors awaited the outcome US presidential election and other potentially market-shaking events this week.

This week brings various potential flashpoints, including election day in the United States. But the results may not be known for some time as officials count all the votes, and the uncertainty could affect markets.

Adding to the potential for volatility, the Federal Reserve will also meet on interest rates later this week. It is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the second time in a row.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1 percent higher.

In early European trade, Germany’s DAX fell 0.1 percent to 19,125.18, while Paris’ CAC 40 fell 0.2 percent to 7,356.02.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent to 8,179.73.

Stock prices rose in Chinese markets as investors anticipated moves by Beijing to boost the world’s second largest economy during a meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.1 percent to 21,006.97, while the Shanghai Composite rose 2.3 percent to 3,386.99.

Officials are expected to approve major spending initiatives to stimulate economic growth amid troubles for the country’s real estate industry.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that lawmakers revised legislation to raise local government debt ceilings to replace existing hidden debts, part of a previously announced plan to arrange debt swaps to help solve financial problems caused by the pandemic and collapse. on the real estate market in recent years. So far, no specific amount of funding for such efforts has been announced.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.1 percent to 38,474.90, reopening on Monday after a holiday.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4 percent to 2,576.88 after the country’s military said north korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea, continuing its weapons demonstrations ahead of the US presidential election.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent to 8,131.80 as the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, remaining close his track record established last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3 percent.

The hope that has propelled U.S. stock indexes to record highs recently is that the U.S. economy can remain resilient and avoid a long-feared recession, in part because of future interest rate cuts expected from the Fed.

The US stock market has historically risen regardless of which party wins at the White House. And in 2020, US stocks rose immediately after Election Day and continued to go even after the first President Donald Trump refused to acknowledge it and disputed the results, creating much uncertainty. Much of this rally was due to excitement over the potential of a vaccine for COVID-19, which has just brought the global economy to a standstill.

A Trump victory would be less of a surprise to markets this time than in 2016, when Treasury yields soared on expectations of tax cuts that could further inflate the nation’s debt or fuel a stronger US economy.

Early Tuesday in the oil market, the price of a barrel of US crude gained 27 cents to $71.74. On Monday, it rose 2.8 percent after Saudi Arabia and other oil producers declared it would delay the plans to increase the amount of crude oil they were producing.

Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 23 cents to $75.31 a barrel. It rose 2.7% on Monday. The price of Brent is still down for the year to date, in part due to concerns about how much demand will come from China, given its economic challenges.

In currency trading, the dollar rose to 152.36 Japanese yen from 152.10 yen. The euro rose to $1.0886 from $1.0880.