Stocks, bond yields and bitcoin advance with U.S. vote count uncertain

HONG KONG -

Share prices, the price of bitcoin and bond yields surged Wednesday as markets awaited updates on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

The results of Tuesday's election may not be known for days or weeks as officials count all the votes, but investors already were repositioning. Incomplete results showed former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris winning in their respective reliable strongholds, with results pending in battleground states.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 1.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average also was up 1.3%. The Nasdaq composite future was 1.1% higher.

The price of bitcoin jumped 7.7% to US$75,255.00, as investors bet on a victory for Trump, who has expressed support for cryptocurrencies.

Bond yields also surged, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbing to 4.4% from 4.28% on Tuesday.

"The markets are scrambling to figure out what happens next, but for the time being, the market is pricing in a higher growth and higher inflation outlook," Peter Esho of Esho Capital said in a commentary.

In Asian share trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 2.3% to 39,341.44 while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.2% lower to 2,570.94.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% to 8,207.50.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.7% to 20,439.58, ending a three-day rally, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid the uncertainties surrounding the U.S. election. The Hang Seng Tech Index slipped 3.3%, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 3,388.70.

"Positive outcomes for Harris are expected to boost Asian assets, while Trump gains may exert downward pressure," Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary.

Chinese markets have been among the most active in the region this week as leaders hold a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's legislature.

The gathering is expected to deliver more moves to help spur faster economic growth and resolve mounting levels of local government debt. On Tuesday, upbeat comments by Premier Li Qiang about the potential for both fiscal and monetary policies helped lift share benchmarks in Hong Kong and Shanghai by more than 2%. Li also expressed confidence that China will attain its growth target of about 5% this year.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks advanced as voters headed to the polls and fresh data showed the economy remains healthy.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 5,782.76 and the Dow industrials climbed 1% to 42,221.88. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.4% to 18,439.17.

Markets worldwide are fixated on what the election will mean for U.S. economic, monetary and trade policy, as well as geopolitics. A split in Congress between political parties would complicate policymaking, and a change to a White House headed by former President Donald Trump could bring major changes to trade and other policies.

The broad U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, even if each party's policies can help and hurt different industries' profits.

Since 1945, the S&P 500 has risen in 73% of the years where a Democrat was president and 70% of the years when a Republican was the nation's chief executive, according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The S&P 500 has risen nearly 70% since the 2020 election brought President Joe Biden into office. It rallied to records as the U.S. economy bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to avoid a recession despite a jump in inflation.

Later this week, the Federal Reserve is due to make a decision on interest rates. The widespread expectation is for the U.S. central bank to cut its main interest rate for a second time and likely again in December.

In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 90 cents to $71.09 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 99 cents to $74.54 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar surged to 153.62 Japanese yen from 151.62 yen late Tuesday.

The euro slipped to $1.0764 from $1.0931.