Asian Shares In Broad-based Rally On Eve Of U.S. Election

Analysts said the prospect of no immediate winner in the presidential race was the biggest drag on markets. Trump trails Biden in national opinion polls, but polls in the swing states that will decide the election show a closer race.

“The key for the stock market in the short-term is a concern over an uncertain and timely election result and the possibility of a disputed outcome,” said Marc Chaikin, founder of Chaikin Analytics, a quantitative investment research firm based in Philadelphia.Australia’s ASX 200 gained the most in three weeks ahead of a widely anticipated cut in the benchmark interest rate by the country’s central bank.

Oil prices steadied after two weeks of selling, with Brent futures down 0.1% to $38.90 a barrel, but hanging on to most of an overnight bounce.

Still, the uncertainty of the U.S. election and a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States supported the dollar and gold prices, as some investors sought safety.

Gold was firm at $1,895.6 an ounce, while the dollar index held ground at 94.027.

U.S. Treasury yields were little changed as investors braced for an eventful week with central bank meetings by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, as well as the release of U.S. jobs data for October.

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