European, Asian shares advance as investors await result of the US presidential election

GulfToday Report

European shares marked a two-week high on Thursday, due to a handful of strong earnings, an increment in Wall Street stock futures as Joe Biden takes the lead on the race for the White House.  

In its fifth day of rising, the pan-European STOXX 600 index advanced 0.6%, its highest since Oct. 20.

Stocks from tech are ready to take the lead as the possibility of gridlock in US Congress leaves investors hopeful that tight regulations might be hard to enact. 

UK's FTSE was flat, with sterling on the rise after the Bank of England increased its already huge bond-buying stimulus by a bigger-than-expected 150 billion pounds ($195 billion).  

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Asian Shares

Asian shares climbed Thursday after stocks rallied on Wall Street as investors for gridlock in Washington, propelling the S&P 500 index by 2.2% while awaiting the result of the US presidential election.

In the lead is Hong Kong’s benchmark advancing by 2.6%, shares in Tokyo and South Korea also gained by more than 1%. 

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was at 25,532.56 while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 1% to 24,105.28. South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.1% to 2,405.99. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 6,139.60. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.9% to 3,307.17.

The S&P had a good start rising by 2.2%, its best day in five months. The benchmark index advanced at 3.5% before the market lost its momentum at the end of the day. 

The Dow added 1.3% to 27,847.66. The Nasdaq gained 3.9% to 11,590.78.