Asian stocks trade cautious ahead of US elections

A turnaround in risk conditions is witnessed in the Asian session today, with the region’s indices trading on a cautious footing ahead of the outcome of the US presidential elections due later on Tuesday.

Although markets are pricing-in a Clinton win, the sentiment remains undermined as a surprise Trump win also cannot be ruled out, given the latest tight poll results.

A renewed bout of risk-off appears to benefit the Japanese yen, which weighs on the exports-oriented stocks on the Japanese bourses. While worse-than expected Chinese trade data also adds to the risk-off moods and keeps the demand for risky assets, such as the equities, in check.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 trades flat around 17,165, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 also trades muted around 5,255. The Chinese equities extend gains on more stimulus hopes after poor Chinese data, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index up +0.61%, while CSI300 index trades +0.30% higher. Hong Kong markets advance +0.40% to 22,890 levels.

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