Asia-Pacific markets mostly up
Meanwhile, stocks in other major Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher in Wednesday morning trade.
Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher, with the Shanghai composite up slightly while the Shenzhen component added 0.354%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.48% while the Topix index advanced 0.99%. South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.32%.
Shares in Australia slipped, as the S&P/ASX 200 declined around 1%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.26% lower.
On the economic data front, Australia’s retail turnover fell 1.1% in September 2020 on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
Following that data release, the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7132, after an earlier high of $0.7221.
U.S. election watch
Investor focus on Wednesday was also likely on the U.S. presidential election between incumbent Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We consider the election result is very uncertain despite former Vice President Biden’s large lead in the national polls,” Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note. “The uncertainty about the outcome of the election and the risk of an inconclusive result on the day can lift currency volatility.”
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.634 following levels above 94 seen earlier this week.
The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency, traded at 104.62 per dollar after strengthening from levels around 104.7 against the greenback yesterday.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.18% to $40.18 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also gained 1.41% to $38.19 per barrel.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 554.98 points higher at 27,480.03. The S&P 500 rose 1.8% to finish its trading day at 3,369.16 while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.9% to close at 11,160.57. It was the second-best presidential Election Day performance for the S&P 500.
— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC