Asian stocks weighed down by U.S. election concerns

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday, spooked by concerns over the outcome of next week’s U.S. presidential election.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P ASX/200 of Australia fell 0.10 percent at 5,223.71 and South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.2 percent to 1,972.30. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.5 percent to 22,699.92 and shares fell in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The Shanghai Composite bucked the trend to rise 0.20 percent at 3,108.71. Japan’s market is closed for a holiday.

WALL STREET: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell for a seventh straight day, losing 0.7 percent to 2,097.94. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.4 percent to 17,959.64 and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.9 percent to 5,105.57.

ELECTION JITTERS: Hillary Clinton maintains a lead in polling in the U.S. presidential race but Donald Trump has narrowed the gap. Markets favor a Clinton victory as she is seen maintaining the status quo. Trump’s policies are less clear, and the uncertainty rocks markets.

QUOTABLE: “Just by looking at the muted market action in the days leading to next week’s decision, seasoned traders recognized this as possibly the calm before the storm,” said Nicholas Teo, trading strategist with KGI Securities in Singapore. “Should Trump win, convention calls for a selldown in USD and USD assets including American equities. This could naturally also drag down global equities.”

FED RATE HIKE: As expected, the Federal Reserve left policy unchanged ahead of the Nov. 8 poll. But it kept the door open for a rate hike in its December meeting. The Fed is waiting for the coast to clear amid the tightening presidential race.

ENERGY: U.S. benchmark oil futures rebounded, rising 44 cents to $45.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It sank $1.33 to $45.34 a barrel on Wednesday after a report from the Energy Department showed a sharp buildup in crude oil supplies last week. Brent crude, the international standard, added 60 cents at $47.46 a barrel. It lost $1.28 to $46.86 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 102.82 yen from 103.28 yen, while the euro rose to $1.1117 from $1.1096.