Stock markets in Asia and Europe gave mixed performances on Tuesday in a cautious response to the presidential elections taking place in United States on November 4.

While the Wall Street closed with a relatively flat finish ahead of the US presidential elections, stock markets across the world traded cautiously as everyone waited to see who would win the race to the White House.

Japan’s market opened positively after it was closed on Monday for a national holiday and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 538 points or 6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.3% to 14,384 after fluctuating throughout Tuesday and South Korea’s Kospi rose by 2%. however benchmark indices in Shanghai and Singapore fell and in mainland China the market dropped for the third day led by mining and metal stocks.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index shook off initial losses to close almost flat after the country’s central bank slashed key interest rates by 0.75 of a percentage point, exceeding most analysts’ estimates of a half-percentage point. The Australian Reserve Bank cut interest rates amidst recent data pointing to growing evidence of an economic slowdown in the country.

Stock markets across the world have gone through some of the most chaotic times in past few weeks as the impact of the global financial crisis eroded investors’ confidence.