(menafn – ecpulse)
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has taken Mondays focus but if we dig deeper into market sentiment well find focus is all over the U.S. Election Day, as traders set their expectations and millions of Americans head to the polls to select the future President of the U.S. President Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney pull out their final campaigns, deploying thousands of volunteers on Election Day and the 24 hours prior to get in touch with voters and try to convince them to turn out on November 6 and vote across nine swing states.
Markets are on the edge before the Election Day, weighed by the vicious battle for the White House and bitterness of Superstorm Sandy, which left the East Coast battered and shut down U.S. markets for two days - the longest weather-related market closure since the 1880s.
President Barack Obama and rival Mitt Romney resume their rallies ahead of Tuesdays hectic election, though the most opinion polls indicate Obama may have the edge over Romney in crucial battleground states; however uncertainty over the outcome has weighed on markets.
U.S. stock futures were little changed at the start of the week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.08 percent to 13,002 as of 07:00 a.m. in New York time. Standard & Poors 500 futures were almost flat around 1,405.8, while NASDAQ 100 rose 0.13 percent at 2,644.5.
The economic calendar is quite calm Monday, with Institute for Supply Managements composite index on non-manufacturing activity. After services sector advanced unexpectedly in September, the non-manufacturing gauge is expected to offer a lower reading around 54.9 in October.
The U.S. Dollar is adding steam ahead of the Election Day as the euro slumped on renewed worries on the fate of Greece inside the euro zone with a looming parliamentary vote on new austerity measures ahead of a looming parliamentary vote scheduled on Wednesday.
Antonis Samaras, the Greek Prime Minister, voiced out some deep concerns about the fate of his country inside the euro zone, telling lawmakers Sunday "we must save the country from catastrophe, and "if we fail to stay in the euro, nothing will make sense," according to APF.
The parliament vote over new economic reforms and ultra-sharp spending cuts could determine whether the government unlocks a desperately-needed 31.2 billion euros in European aid, without the troubled sovereign would face a terrifying nightmare and possible Grexit within months.
The USDIX, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a six-currency basket, rose to a two-month high of 80.84, and has been wavering around 80.78 since then, while the single slipped to an eight-week low of 1.2766, trading around 1.27280 from an opening of 1.2817.
