Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after US indexes slipped on election eve.

ASX futures were down 0.41% or 34 points as of 8:30am on Tuesday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks fell as investors took a cautious stance ahead of tomorrow's elections. The dollar weakened and Treasury yields fell.

Energy stocks outperformed as oil prices rallied on OPEC and its allies decision to push back plans to start unwinding output cuts by another month to the end of the year. Utilities came under pressure on declines in shares of nuclear-power producers after regulators dealt a blow to an Amazon.com effort to use more nuclear energy.

DJIA fell 257 points, or 0.6%, to 41,794, the S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 5,712 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3% to 18,179.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 3.1% to US$75.35 a barrel, while gold was unchanged at US$2,736.20.

The Australian dollar was at 65.83 US cents, up from its previous close of 65.58.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2% to 3,310.21, and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 2.0% to 1,984.22.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.3% to 20,567.52.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average lost 2.6% to 38,053.67.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX fell 1.1% to 78,782.24.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index increased 0.1% to 8,184.24.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX dropped 0.6% to 19,147.85, and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.5% to 7,371.71.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA lost 0.6% to 41,794.60, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,712.69, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3% to 18,179.98.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were The Mosaic Co, surging 5.36%, Enphase Energy Inc jumped 4.69%, and Sherwin-Williams Co lifted 4.59%.

The biggest decliners were Constellation Energy Corp which dropped 12.43%, Public Service Enterprise Group Inc fell 6.23%, and United Airlines Holdings Inc lost 4.00%.