Stock market today: World shares are mixed as investors eye the US
election
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[November 05, 2024] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
World shares were mixed on Tuesday, with major benchmarks in Asia
gaining more than 1%, as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S.
presidential election and other potentially market-rattling events this
week.
This week brings 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.
The futures for the S&P 500 and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
were 0.1% higher.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX edged 0.1% lower to 19,125.18
while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.2% to 7,356.02.
Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 8,179.73.
Share prices surged on 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 jumped 2.1% to 21,006.97, while the Shanghai
Composite index surged 2.3% to 3,386.99.
Officials are 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 plan announced earlier 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. So far, no
specific amount of funding for such efforts has been announced.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.1% to 38,474.90,
reopening after a holiday on Monday.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% to 2,576,88 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.
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A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite
Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate
between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange
dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP
Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dropped
0.4% to 8,131.80 as the central bank kept its benchmark interest
rate unchanged.
On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, remaining near its record set
last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, while the
Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%.
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.
The broad U.S. stock market has historically risen regardless of
which party wins the White House. And in 2020, U.S. stocks climbed
immediately after Election Day and kept going even after former
President Donald Trump refused to concede and challenged the
results, creating plenty of uncertainty. A large part of that rally
was due to excitement about the potential for a vaccine for
COVID-19, which had just shut down the global economy.
A Trump victory would be less of a surprise to markets this time
around than in 2016, when Treasury yields soared on expectations for
tax cuts that could further inflate the nation’s debt or fuel a
stronger U.S economy.
In the oil market early Tuesday, the price for a barrel of U.S.
crude gained 27 cents to $71.74. On Monday, it rose 2.8% after Saudi
Arabia and other oil producers said they would delay plans to
increase the amount of crude they produced.
Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 23 cents to $75.31
per barrel. It rose 2.7% on Monday. The price of Brent is still down
for the year so far, in part because of worries about how much
demand will come from China given its economic challenges.
In currency dealings, the dollar rose to 152.36 Japanese yen from
152.10 yen. The euro climbed to $1.0886 from $1.0880.
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