Asian stocks dip amid U.S. electoral uncertainty; Nikkei down 0.53%
Published Nov 04, 2012 10:34PM ET
During Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.43%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was up 0.18%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.53%.
U.S. voters go to the ballot box on Tuesday to elect a new president, and polls do not indicate that either President Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney have emerged as a clear frontrunner up to now.
Investors went long on the dollar on Monday to ride out electoral uncertainty.
Concerns the European debt crisis is reheating in Greece quelled appetite for equities as well.
In Athens, the government will present an austerity plan calling for EUR13.5 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes to Parliament on Monday in the face of strikes.
Greece must approve the reforms and pass a new budget to free up some EUR31.5 billion in aid arranged by the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank.
Some coalition politicians have said they oppose austerity measures that call for wage cuts.
China is due to change leadership this week, which further dampened appetite for risk.
In Hong Kong, top decliners included COSCO Pacific, down 4.59%, Cathay Pacific Air, down 2.06%, and Esprit Holdings, down 1.74%.
In Australia, top gainers included Atlas Iron, up 2.61%, Goodman Group, up 2.53%, and Iluka Resources, up 2.35%.
European stock futures indicated a mixed opening.
France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.29%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures pointed to a gain of 0.13%. Meanwhile in the U.K., FTSE 100 futures were down 0.01%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.17%, while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.12%.
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Written By: Investing.com
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