Shares were mostly higher in Asia early Tuesday, with major benchmarks gaining more than 1%, after U.S. stock indexes drifted lower a day ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
This week will bring various potential flashpoints, among them 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 roil markets.
Adding to the potential for volatility, the Federal Reserve will also be meeting on interest rates later this week. The widespread expectation is for it to cut its main interest rate for a second straight time.
Investors also hope the Chinese government may announce stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% to 38,571.64, reopening after a holiday on Monday.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4% to 2,578.50 after the country’s military said North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea, continuing its weapons demonstrations ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dropped 0.4% to 8,131.80 as the central bank kepts its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress is meeting this week, and the government is expected to endorse major spending initiatives to boost economic growth amid troubles for the country’s real-estate industry.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the lawmakers had reviewed legislation to raise ceilings on local government debt to replace existing hidden debts, part of a process to arrange debt swaps to help resolve the financial woes brought on by the pandemic and by a collapse in the property market in recent years.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.4% to 20,853.45 and the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.9% to 3,373.30.
On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 5,712.69, remaining near its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 41,794.60, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3% to 18,179.98.
Intel fell 2.9%, and chemical producer Dow sank 2.1% in their first trading since getting notified they’ll no longer be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dropped 2.2% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market after reporting a drop in operating profit for the latest quarter.
The hope that’s propelled U.S. stock indexes to records recently is that the U.S. economy can remain resilient and avoid a long-feared recession, in part because of the coming cuts to rates expected from the Fed.