FTSE 100 poised to extend gains with strong start on US election day

The FTSE 100 is expected to extend its gains on Tuesday as the world watches to see if Donald Trump will be ejected from the White House. Traders are calling London’s blue chip benchmark 50 points higher on the IG spread-betting platform, adding to the index’s 77.7 gain on the first day of the week to finish at 5,654.97. Asian markets are all strongly in the green this morning, led by the Hang Seng, up 2.4%, and the Nikkei, up 1.4%, while Australian stocks also rallied as the central bank there cut interest rates to 0.1%. Overnight, Wall Street threw off its nerves and marched higher, with the Dow Jones jumping 423 points or 1.6% to just above 26,925. The S&P rose 1.2% and the Nasdaq was the most subdued, up 0.4% as many of the tech titans were in the red. Markets around the world were given a boost by manufacturing purchasing managers’ index data, with a day’s break before the next round of PMIs focuses on the global services sector. “Not much can be said about this election that hasn’t already been said already,” said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at London Capital Group. “From a markets perspective, Biden is baked into the cake but an elevated VIX index (fear gauge) tells you nobody’s ready to write off Trump completely. “If The Donald does pull off another 2016, markets are not positioned for it and volatility will rise even higher. The most likely reason for elevated vol is a contested result – also not really priced outside of the VIX.” Analyst Jeffrey Halley at Oanda added: “Results will start flowing in through the morning tomorrow in Asia, which should make for a friskier than usual session. Today, markets will turn themselves inside out and enter a state of analysis paralysis trying to forecast what asset class will do what under what scenario.” Around the market Pound up 0.1% at US$1.2929 Gold down 0.2% to US$1,892.70 Oil - Brent crude down 0.5% to US$38.79 Bitcoin down 2.3% at $13,445.72 6.45 am: Early Markets: Asia / Australia Stocks in Asia-Pacific were higher today after the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed its official cash rate to a new historic low of 0.1%. Aussie shares surged with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 1.93% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shares rose more than 2% while Chinese stocks were also higher, with the Shanghai composite gaining 1.04%. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.71% following a 1.46% gain on Monday. Japanese markets were closed today for a holiday. READ OUR ASX REPORT HERE Proactive Australia news: Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) (FRA:FWL) hosts a large copper and gold bounty at the large Kalkaroo Project in South Australia and is confident it can further enhance value by economically recovering rare earths as a by-product. Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) has completed the acquisition of a 95% stake of its Korean-based joint venture partner Ziron Technology Corporation. Chase Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:CML) has made a strategic investment of $600,000 to become a 40% shareholder in private Queensland-focused advanced exploration company Red Fox Resources Pty Limited. Alto Metals Ltd (ASX:AME) has started a 5,000-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling program focusing on the Lord’s Corridor as part of an overall 30,000-metre program at Sandstone Gold Project in Western Australia, the largest single drill program the company has undertaken. Cardiex Ltd (ASX:CDX) achieved two commercial milestones in the September quarter on signing partnership agreements with Andon Health Co Ltd (SHE:002432) one of China’s largest manufacturers of home-use medical electronic devices, and Mobvoi, one of China’s most innovative AI, wearable and tech companies and a global leader in smartwatches. Moho Resources Ltd (ASX:MOH) has expanded the diamond drilling program at East Sampson Dam Gold Prospect within the Silver Swan North Project in Western Australia’s Goldfields, after initial encouraging observations by its technical team. Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) (FRA:YBB) has set the stage for strong upcoming newsflow from recent acquisitions as a new strategy focused on gold adds a new dimension to the company’s existing nickel strategy. Northern Minerals Ltd (ASX:NTU) is focused on increasing the mineral resource and the life of mine potential at the Browns Range Project in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia with around 8,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling planned to be drilled before Christmas. Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) continued its drill program on its highly prospective Bankan Gold Project, in Guinea during the September quarter and plans to begin stage two drilling in the near term.