Asia stocks head for muted open; oil rises ahead of US election

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lagged behind, weighted down by Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. as investors rotated from so-called work-from-home stocks and into sectors that would benefit from more stimulus. Treasury yields dropped and the dollar touched a one-month high.

Asian stocks are set for a muted open, with investors remaining anxious ahead of Tuesday’s US presidential election. Crude oil rebounded.

Australian shares rose at the open. Futures edged up in Hong Kong. Japan is closed for a holiday and Treasuries won’t trade until London opens. S&P 500 Index futures headed higher. Earlier, the benchmark climbed after plunging 5.6% last week. (AP Photo)

Australian shares rose at the open. Futures edged up in Hong Kong. Japan is closed for a holiday and Treasuries won’t trade until London opens. S&P 500 Index futures headed higher. Earlier, the benchmark climbed after plunging 5.6% last week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lagged behind, weighted down by Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. as investors rotated from so-called work-from-home stocks and into sectors that would benefit from more stimulus. Treasury yields dropped and the dollar touched a one-month high.

Elsewhere, oil clawed back earlier losses amid signals that Russia, a key OPEC ally, is in talks to possibly postpone the group’s planned output hike in January. Russia, which depends on crude as a key export, saw the ruble weaken to the lowest level since March against the dollar.

Polls continue to show Democrat Joe Biden ahead, though battleground states remain tight. The US reported a slight slowdown in virus cases over the weekend, but several states continued to notch record numbers of infections.

“Uncertainty will likely remain likely until Wednesday morning when we should have clarity on who holds the Presidency and Senate, assuming and this is a big if, the polls are correct,” Sebastien Galy, a senior macro strategist at Nordea Investment Funds SA, wrote in a note.