European stocks, Asian stocks advance on US Election Day

Gulf Today Report

Stock markets in Europe rose at opening on Tuesday due to gains overnight, with all attention on US as Americans head to the polls.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 advanced 1.1 per cent to 5,715.53 points, Paris CAC 40 rose 0.9 per cent to 4,734.09 and Frankfurt's DAX 30 was up 0.6 per cent at 11,860.97.

City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta said, the economic calendar is relatively quiet in the UK and eurozone, with events on the other side of the Atlantic expected to drive sentiment as attention switches firmly to Election Day.

She added that investors are bracing themselves for plenty of market moving headlines later tonight which is expected to bring significant volatility.

In the national polls, Joe Biden has been leading for weeks as President Donald Trump face backlash of the way his government handled the coronavirus.

Although, Tuesday is the official Election Day, Americans have been voting for weeks. One of the measures put in place to safeguard against Covid-19 pandemic during the election is the expansion of mail-in voting. So far, nearly 100 million Americans have voted.

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Asian Stock

Asian stock markets climb on Tuesday as investors await US election results, hoping a win by democrat Joe Biden might lead to more economic stimulus.

The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.1% to 3,259.48 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 2.2% to 24,988.27. The Kospi in Seoul gained 1.7% to 2,339.18.

India's Sensex rose 1% to 40,144.51. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets advanced.

However, markets are worried about the second wave of the coronavirus in Europe, which might lead to regulations impose on travel and business.

Wall Street

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 1.2% to 3,310.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.6% to 26,925.05. The Nasdaq composite picked up 0.4%,to 10,957.61.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce its latest decision on interest rates later in the week.

Investors are also worried that a contested election would mean it could be weeks before the winner of the White House is certain. 

The Senate election is also very important. Investors are hopeful that Democrats will avail support for the economy if they get control of the Senate.