US stocks edge up ahead of election

Key indexes in the US edged up marginally at close of trading which was calm as investors preferred to refrain from buying ahead of the presidential election. According to stock exchange data, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.28 points (or 0.15%) to reach 13112.44 points. In other trading Monday, the Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 3.06 points to 1,417.26, while the Nasdaq composite index climbed 17 points to 2,999.66. Just 2.9 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, well below the recent average. In the currency market, the yen strengthened against most of its major peers as Japanese stocks fell amid concern Greece will struggle to win bailout funds and before US presidential elections today. The yen strengthened 0.4% to 80.05 per dollar as of 2:37 pm in Tokyo from yesterday, after touching 79.96. It gained 0.4% to 102.36 per euro, after having risen 0.9% in the last two sessions. The euro was at $1.2791, after touching $1.2767 yesterday, the weakest since September 11. The pound fell 0.3% to $1.5980 at 4:08 pm London time after dropping 0.7% on November 2. Sterling was little changed at 80.03 pence per euro after appreciating to 79.86 pence, the strongest since October 2.