Election day hits Asian market

The uncertainty of the US presidential election was felt around the world Tuesday as the US dollar and Asian shares opened to mixed results.

The dollar and euro both weakened in comparison to the Japanese yen. The dollar's decline in growth comes during a nearly two-month high for the currency.

Eyes on Obama, Romney

Markets are closely following Tuesday's election between US President Barack Obama and his republican challenger Mitt Romney.

"The main focus is the US election, and uncertainty ahead of that is going to keep markets, including Japanese stocks, in a range," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, to the Reuters news agency.

If the outcome is delayed because of close results, it could reflect negatively in the markets as it did during 2000's drawn-out election between then-Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore.

According to analysts, an Obama win is seen as negative for equities, while Romney is seen as stock-friendly.

Greece concern

Financial unrest in Greece continued to show itself in Tuesday's Asian market. The country faces nationwide protests as it attempts to pass financial reform legislation.

The euro bought at $1.2786 in Tokyo, compared to $1.2791 late Monday in New York.

"At the moment Greek risks are spawning euro selling," said Hiromichi Shirakawa, an analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo, told the AFP news agency.

"If the Greek parliament votes down a reform package and the [European Central Bank] goes ahead with a rate cut … we cannot rule out the possibility that the euro would plunge to around $1.25," he added.

dr/jm  (Reuters, AFP)