On Monday, November 4th, U.S. markets closed lower after a volatile session as investors braced for a pivotal week with the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. A poll showing Kamala Harris leading in Iowa impacted “Trump trades,” adding market uncertainty amid expectations of delayed election results.

Economic data showed that U.S. factory orders dropped by 0.5% in September, reaching $584.2 billion, following a revised 0.8% decrease in August.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed lower, led by losses in utilities, communication services, and financials, while energy and real estate stocks rose.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.61% to close at 41,794.60, the S&P 500 fell 0.28% to 5,712.69, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.33% to finish at 18,179.98.

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.42% and ended the session at 38,595.50, led by gains in the Glass, Transportation Equipment, and Banking sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.40% and ended the day at 8,131.80, led by losses in the Gold, Utilities, and Financial sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 traded higher by 0.85% at 24,199.05, and Nifty 500 was up 0.63% at 22,661.00, led by gains in the Metals, Banking, and Oil & Gas sectors shares.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 2.32% to close at 3,386.99, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 2.53%, finishing the day at 4,044.57.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 2.14% and closed the session at 21,006.97.

Eurozone at 05.30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.05%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.01%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.04%.
• U.K.’sU.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.25%.

Commodities at 05.30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.35% at $71.73/bbl, and Brent was up 0.36% at $75.33/bbl.
• Oil prices stayed within a narrow range as markets awaited the U.S. presidential election, following a 2% rise after OPEC+ delayed a planned December production increase.
• Natural Gas declined 0.36% to $2.771.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.10% at $2,748.80, Silver gained 0.48% to $32.767, and Copper rose 0.85% to $4.4688.

U.S. Futures at 05.30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.13%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.27%.

Forex at 05.30 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index fell 0.12% to 103.77, the USD/JPY was up 0.05% to 152.20, and the USD/AUD declined 0.49% to 1.5110.
• The dollar softened as election volatility spiked while traders awaited the Fed’s rate decision.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock