US futures, world markets rise as investors eye US election

U.S. futures rose and Asia markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as investors worldwide awaited the results from the U.S. presidential election.

Just after 10 p.m. Eastern time, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden were locked in tight races in battleground states. Most polls have predicted a Biden victory.

Many investors took forecasts of a so-called “blue wave" of Democratic Party wins as a signal that the U.S. economy might soon get a big, fresh infusion of help. But with the race too close to call, analysts said they also might be reassured by the prospect for a continuation of Trump's pro-market stance.

“Markets seem to be pricing in better chances for Trump, or at least a smaller chance of a blue wave," Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.

“On the one hand with the fiscal implications of a Biden win/blue wave that’s a bit of a surprise -– on the other Trump is widely considered more market-friendly, so one can see how it nets out a small positive," Innes said.

As of midnight Eastern time, Dow futures were up 0.8% and the S&P 500 futures rose 1.6%. Both initially fell as election returns began coming in. The Nasdaq futures fell back, losing 0.2% after earlier gaining 3.5%. The gains in the futures follow a strong performance in regular trading Tuesday on Wall Street.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo jumped 2.1% to 23,783.29 on Wednesday, while the Kospi in Seoul added 0.8%, to 2,361.70. India's Sensex surged 0.9% and the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 6,072.20.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was flat at 24,933.48, while the Shanghai Composite Index also was almost unchanged, at 3,272.06.

Caution appeared to prevail as investors considered the implications of a last-minute decision by Chinese regulators to suspend the...