BREAKING - Dollar on Defensive While S&P 500 futures climb Ahead of Election Result

TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was on the defensive and risk-sensitive currencies held firm early on Wednesday as markets remained jittery amid uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. In the meanwhile, U.S. stock market futures climbed on Tuesday as Wall Street bet an unusually rancorous U.S. presidential election would be decided without a prolonged process.

The dollar index measuring the greenback against a basket of currencies =USD stood at 93.19, having shed 0.9% on Tuesday, its biggest daily drop since late March. S&P emini futures EScv1 climbed 0.9%, adding to a rally during the official trading session that saw the S&P 500 deliver its strongest one-day gain in almost a month.

The vote results will start to trickle in after 7 p.m. (EST) but counting could go on for several days and the final outcome may not be known for some time if the race is too tight.

The euro fetched $1.1759, having climbed 0.2% in early trade to extend its gain so far this week to 0.9%.

The British pound stood at $1.3078, after rising 0.3% early on Wednesday. It changed hands at 89.68 pence per euro, its strongest level in almost two months.

The Australian dollar stuck around a three-week high, last trading at $0.71825, even after the nation's central bank stepped up its monetary easing the previous day.

The offshore Chinese yuan rose 0.4% to 6.6539 per dollar while the safe-haven yen moved little at 104.625 per dollar.

In Tuesday's trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 2.06% to end at 27,480.03 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.78% to 3,369.02.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 1.85% to 11,160.57.

Read original articles from: Reuters