Stock market today: Asia shares decline as investors await earnings, US elections and economic data

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Thursday as investors grappled with uncertainty ahead of the United States presidential election on Nov. 5.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.5% in early trading to 39,069.20. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 8,153.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 20,433.83, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 3,258.04.

South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.2% to 2,562.07, after the South Korean government reported North Korea's test-launch of what's suspected to be new long-range missile designed to strike the continental U.S.

Details of the long-range missile capabilities North Korea was testing were not yet known, but the launch was likely meant to grab America's attention ahead of the U.S. election Tuesday.

Market watchers were also awaiting a monetary policy decision from the Bank of Japan, although analysts expect the central bank to stay pat.

Upcoming earnings releases in Asia, as well as the rest of the world, also added to the wait-and-see mood.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 5,813.67 after drifting between small gains and losses several times, though it’s still near its all-time high set earlier in October.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% to 42,141.54, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6% to 18,607.93, from its own record set the day before.

Alphabet climbed 2.8% after beating analysts’ forecasts for profit in the latest quarter, thanks largely to the performance of its Google business. It’s the latest of the highly influential group of stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” to top high expectations for growth.

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