- Gauff beats Swiatek at WTA Finals as Sabalenka earns year-end No.1
- Concern grows for Iran woman detained over underwear protest
- Cowboys' Prescott 'likely' to land on injured reserve - Jones
- Amid injury concerns Davis says Lakers must be better
- US writes off over $1 billion of Somalia debt
- Gauff beats Swiatek to reach last four of WTA Finals
- French court jails 18 members of Channel people smuggling gang
- Scotland's Graham ruled out of South Africa showdown
- Flamengo striker Bruno Henrique probed in Brazil betting scandal
- Stock markets climb, dollar dips as US votes
- Boeing union approves contract, ending over 7-week strike
- Gazans want new US president to end the war
- Bayern feel 'drama' after poor Champions League start, says Kompany
- England name unchanged team for Australia clash
- Davis Cup aiming for 'special' Nadal retirement celebration
- Inzaghi hints at Inter Milan turnover for Arsenal clash
- Stock markets rise, dollar falls as US votes
- Germany arrests eight members of far-right paramilitary group
- French women 'stunned' as partners accused in mass rape trial
- US September trade deficit widest in over two years
- Krejcikova ends Pegula's last-four hopes at WTA Finals
- Reform row puts Mexico at risk of 'constitutional crisis'
- 'Black day': French workers protest Michelin plans to close two plants
- Manchester United fans in favour of leaving Old Trafford
- Saudi Aramco's quarterly profit drops 15% on low oil prices
- Kenya court jails Olympian Kiplagat's killers for 35 years
- Dutch, French authorities raid Netflix offices in tax probe
- Barcelona to replace flood-hit Valencia for MotoGP finale
- Spain unveils aid plan a week after catastrophic floods
- Neymar to miss two weeks' training in fresh setback: coach
- Injured Djokovic gives up on ATP Finals title defence
- Indonesia volcano erupts again after killing nine day earlier
- Injured Djokovic to miss ATP Finals
- South Korea fines Meta for illegal collection of user data
- UK parliament to debate world's first 'smoke-free generation' bill
- Stock markets rise, dollar pressured as US votes
- 'Incalculable' bill awaits Spain after historic floods
- Europe auto struggles lead to cuts at Michelin, Germany's Schaeffler
- Award-winning Cambodian reporter quits journalism after arrest
- Kenyan athletes' deaths expose mental health struggles
- Start without a shot: PTSD sufferers welcome marathon effort
- Norway speeds ahead of EU in race for fossil-free roads
- Harris or Trump: America decides in knife-edge election
- Smog sickness: India's capital struggles as pollution surges
- Most Asian markets rise as US heads to polls in toss-up vote
- World's first wooden satellite launched into space
- Myanmar junta chief visits key ally China
- Nintendo lowers sales forecast as first-half profits plunge
- Most Asian markets rise ahead of toss-up US election
- Greenland seeks to capitalise on 'last-chance tourism'
Stock markets rise, dollar falls as US votes
Major stock markets mostly rose and the dollar remained under pressure Tuesday as Americans cast votes in a knife-edge presidential election.
Wall Street's main indexes, which had fallen the previous day, rebounded in early deals after voting began in the world's biggest economy.
In Europe, London fell as investors await an interest-rate decision by the Bank of England on Thursday while Paris and Frankfurt were slightly up in afternoon deals.
Equities in Shanghai and Hong Kong won strong support from hopes over China's economy.
The dollar weakened against the euro, the British pound and the yen.
"A contested election result could cause volatility on the markets," noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"Equally, a clear winner quickly after voting ends could provide some relief to investors."
A win for Republican Donald Trump is expected to restoke inflation and send Treasury yields higher owing to his pledges to slash taxes and impose tariffs on imports, which could support the dollar.
Analysts see less upheaval from a win by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Investors are also awaiting another US Federal Reserve rate cut on Thursday as inflation cools.
"A pro-tariff Trump presidency could see the dollar strengthen amid concerns higher inflation will prompt the Fed to keep interest rates higher," predicted Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"There is likely to be a period of volatility particularly if the result is contested, but investors should keep their eyes on long-term horizons as historically financial markets have risen over the course of both Democratic and Republican presidencies."
Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index and Forex.com, said markets had priced in a Trump win until the start of this week.
"While that could still be the case, Harris has closed the gap to essentially make it a coin flip between the two candidates," he said.
"As things stand it looks like it could be a photo finish. This makes it extremely difficult to make a strong case for the direction of the dollar or stocks this week," Razaqzada said.
- Asia up -
Hong Kong and Shanghai each closed up by more than two percent Tuesday after data showed China's services sector expanded last month at its fastest pace since July.
The news came as traders await the end of a Chinese government meeting this week to hammer out an economic stimulus.
Officials are expected to give the go-ahead to about $140 billion in extra budget spending, mostly for indebted local governments, and a similar one-off payment for banks.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, meanwhile, said he was "fully confident" that China's economy would hit its growth targets this year and indicated that there was room to do more.
Oil prices gained less sharply, having surged almost three percent Monday after top producers agreed to extend output cuts through to the end of December and on worries about the Middle East crisis.
On the corporate front, Boeing shares fell slightly even though striking workers approved a contract proposal late Monday, ending more than seven weeks of stoppages that underscored discontent in the workforce of the beleaguered US aviation giant.
- Key figures around 1440 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 41,886.63 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 5,742.69
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.8 percent at 18,319.57
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,163.47
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,390.45
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 19,193.13
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 38,474.90 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 21,006.97 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.3 percent at 3,386.99 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0910 from $1.0878 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3020 from $1.2954
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.84 yen from 152.17 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.80 from 83.94 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $75.77 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $72.23 per barrel
E.Schubert--BTB