Nov 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to open slightly higher on Tuesday as investors bet on the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut its benchmark interest rate, while uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election is likely to keep gains in check.
The Dow and S&P indexes closed higher overnight, as market participants braced for choppy trade surrounding the U.S. election. Democrat Joe Biden is ahead in national opinion polls, but races are tight in battleground states that could tip the election to President Donald Trump. the home front, the central bank is expected to trim its cash rate to a new low and expand its quantitative easing programme at a monthly policy meeting later in the day. local share price index futures YAPcm1 ticked 0.1% higher, an 11.3-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. On Monday, the benchmark rose 0.4%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 inched 0.1% lower in early trade.