Asian markets end mixed

The stock markets across the Asian region closed mixed ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Taking a cue from Wall Street where the stocks finished the first day of the week on a mixed note as investors looked past a weak reading on the manufacturing sector and focused on the election. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.2 points to 9,319.8, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.5 points to 966, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.4 points to 1,726.

In the commodity market, crude oil extended its losses on renewed recession concerns. Light, sweet crude for December delivery dropped 33 cents to $63.58 a barrel by 02:08 a.m. ET after the contract plunged $3.9 to settle at $63.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. Brent crude oil for December settlement on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange fell as much as $2.10, or 3.5 percent, to $58.38 a barrel. That's the lowest since Feb. 20, 2007. It traded at $58.91 at 9:25 a.m. London time.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar strengthened against most major Asian currencies.

Against yen the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 98-yen levels in late Tokyo deals. The dollar was quoted at 98.92- 98.96 yen, up 1.92 yen from Friday's close in Tokyo.

The Australian dollar closed weaker after a larger-than-expected interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Aussie finished the session at US$0.6651-0.6655, down 2.5% from Monday's close of US$0.6823-0.6828.

The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The won ended the domestic session at 1,288.0 a dollar compared to Monday's close of 1,262.0 a dollar. China's yuan traded at 6.8365 to the U.S. dollar in over-the-counter trading, up from yesterday's close of 6.8380.

Coming back in equities, Japanese stocks surged after the market remained closed for a holiday on Monday, but the Australian market closed slightly lower after the nation's central bank cut interest rates.

The Japanese stock market closed sharply higher after an extended weekend, rebounding after Friday's 5% plunge. The Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday. A weaker yen and reports of a possible takeover of struggling electronics maker Sanyo by its bigger rival Panasonic boosted investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average closed up 537.6 points or 6.3% at a two-week high of 9,114.6. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 43.6 points or 5.0% to 910.7.

On the economic front, total cash earnings in Japan inched higher by 0.1% on year in September, but remained flat compared to August. Contractual cash earnings rose 0.1%, while scheduled earnings climbed 0.4%, while non-scheduled earnings fell 3.3%. Cash earnings for the third quarter were also up 0.1% on year following a 0.7% annual expansion in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association said that Japan's auto sales continued to decline for the third straight month in October as unfavorable and uncertain economic conditions reduced purchasing power. Auto sales dropped by a sharp 13.1% year-over-year in October, compared to a 5.3% fall recorded in September. With the fall in October, vehicle sales slipped for the third consecutive month. In August, vehicle sales had fallen 14.9%.

The Chinese stock market closed lower for the third consecutive day as worries about an economic slowdown weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai composite index lost 13.01 points or 0.76% to close 26-month low of 1,706.70.

On the economic front, the output value of China's construction industry in the first nine months of this year totaled 3.76 trillion yuan, up 22.9% from that for the same period of last year, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index reversed declines to end 0.3% higher at 14,384.34. The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index gained 0.80% to end at 6,860.88.

The Australian stock market finished slightly lower, ending a four-day winning streak. Market losses were trimmed by gains in banks and financials after the Australian central bank cut interest rates by 75 basis points to 5.25%. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 6.4 points, or 0.2%, at 4,215.1 and the broader All Ordinaries index shed 3.2 points, or 0.1%, to 4,169.8.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut its cash rate by a 0.75% to 5.25%, citing the effects of the global slowdown, falling commodity prices and a likely downturn in domestic spending.

On the economic front, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia data showed that the business confidence index tumbled in the third quarter ended September to 29.9 from 33.8 in the second quarter, and 51.3 in the year-ago quarter.

In New Zealand, the benchmark NZX 50 began the day with a small rise, but descended by 12.35 points or 0.43% to close the day at 2844.31 points.

In South Korea, the stock market closed sharply higher, extending its gains for the fourth consecutive trading session, as the government's recent economic stimulus measures boosted investor sentiment. After a volatile trading session, the benchmark Korea composite stock price index or Kospi closed up 24.3 points or 2.2% at 1,153.4.

The market closed higher for the fourth day after the central bank announced a $30 billion currency swap deal with the U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday. Yesterday, the Finance Ministry unveiled a sweeping economic stimulus package worth 14 trillion won, which includes a 10 trillion won budget increase for next year and diverse deregulatory moves for the slumping construction sector. The package came in addition to 19 trillion won worth of tax cuts unveiled earlier, bringing the total for economic relief measures to 33 trillion won.

On the economic front, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves recorded their steepest monthly fall since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis in October, mainly due to an increased liquidity supply meant to ease financial jitters, according to the central bank. The nation's foreign reserves stood at US$212.3 billion as of the end of October, down US$27.4 billion from a month earlier, marking the seventh straight month of decline.