NEW YORK, Oct 22 — Asian investors prepared for rough trading today after a bumpy session on Wall Street amid fears that agreement on a key US stimulus bill will not be reached until after the presidential election on November 3.

In early Asian trade, Australian stocks fell at the open.

“We’re looking at a fairly rough day for regional investors, we had a volatile session in the US,” said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “Futures markets are reflecting a worse day here. We’ll see losses across the region.”

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.06 per cent.

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Yesterday, the Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.31 per cent at 23,639.46. The futures contract is down 0.31 per cent from that close.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were up 0.32 per cent.

Wall Street’s three major averages closed lower yesterday after a choppy trading session, as investors eyed difficult negotiations in Washington for a fresh coronavirus stimulus package.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched lower by 0.35 per cent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.22 per cent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.28 per cent.

US lawmakers had not reached an agreement on the stimulus package by late yesterday. President Donald Trump blasted Democrats in a Tweet, accusing them of being unwilling to compromise, despite earlier reports of progress.

The dollar hit a seven-week low yesterday against a basket of currencies, while benchmark US Treasury yields rose to four-month highs, after Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boosted hopes an agreement on stimulus was close.

Oil prices ended lower after US inventories showed demand weakening for refined products as global Covid-19 cases rose. — Reuters