Stocks, dollar cheer Obama

Dubai: Stock markets in Asia and the Middle East reported across-the-board gains yesterday as Democrat Barack Obama won the US presidential polls.

While gains were sharper in Japan and South East Asia, Gulf and other Middle East markets reported marginal gains.

Hong Kong shares jumped 5.7 per cent and Japan's Nikkei stock index closed up 4.46 per cent and Seoul ended with a gain of 2.4 per cent while Sydney added 2.9 per cent.

In the UAE, the Dubai Financial Market General Index barely moved, gaining 0.06 per cent to close at 2,917.29. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Index added 1.51 per cent to end at 3,435.61.

The market euphoria witnessed in Asia lost its steam as European markets opened for trading. European stock markets traded lower ahead of an expected soft opening on Wall Street, as investors booked some profits. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down two per cent while Germany's DAX was down 1.4 per cent.

Wall Street opened lower yesterday a day after Obama won the presidency as investors turned their focus back to concerns about the weakening global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.16 per cent immediately after the opening.

The euro fell to $1.2891 in Tokyo, down from $1.2975 in New York late on Tuesday.

The dollar rose against a basket of currencies yesterday, supported by weaker European shares, while Obama's win also helped.

In early trading, US crude oil fell more than two per cent to below $69 a barrel, reversing some of the previous day's gains ahead of the release of a US inventory report expected to show rising stockpiles.

Spot gold was quoted at $753.00/$755.00 an ounce at 1138 GMT, down from $763.20 late in New York on Tuesday.