By PAMELA SAMPSON
AP Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) - Asian stock
markets fell Monday as uncertainty about the outcome of the U.S.
presidential election reduced appetite for riskier investments.
The race between President
Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is virtually tied one
day ahead of the election, generating an atmosphere of uncertainty that
markets normally dislike.
Investors could awaken
Wednesday without a clear winner. If the election comes down to a thin
margin in a swing state like Ohio, the outcome could be delayed for days
or weeks.
"The worst case scenario
for markets is for a prolonged period of uncertainty if the results
produce no clear cut result," said analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in
Hong Kong.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index
fell 0.3 percent to 9,026.22. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.2 percent to
22,066.59. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.4 percent to 1,910.62. Benchmarks
in mainland China and Singapore also fell. The Philippines PSE rose 1
percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was flat at 4,461.30.
Meanwhile, shares of South
Korea's two largest carmakers plunged after the companies acknowledged
overstating their gas mileage on hundreds of thousands of cars sold in
the U.S. Hyundai Motor Co., the country's largest carmaker, plummeted
6.7 percent and second-largest Kia Motors Corp. sank 7.1 percent.
Benchmark oil for December
delivery was up 16 cents to $85.02 per barrel in electronic trading on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.23, or 2.2
percent, to close Friday in New York at $84.86 a barrel - its lowest
level since July 10.
In currencies, the dollar
rose to 80.53 yen from 80.42 yen late Friday in New York. In currencies,
the euro was unchanged at $1.2829.
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2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
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