Investors were trading cautiously ahead of the results, but it could take months to know the outcome since several electoral fraud cases have appeared, which could mean that we'll have to wait for court decisions. The critical state of Georgia could be heading to a Dec. 6 runoff, so the results would not be known for weeks.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% by 09.45 am. Investors are also bracing for tomorrow's U.S. inflation data, which will give them more clues about when the Fed will pivot to a less hawkish policy.

Among stocks, J D Wetherspoon fell 3.7% after warning that its sales slowed in October.

Marks and Spencer was down 1.2% after saying it full-year profits would fall.

Broadcaster ITV dropped 4.4% as it forecast slightly lower ad revenue for 2022.

In other news, British fashion retailer Next said it will buy online furniture seller Made.com, which entered administration last week after running out of cash.

 

Things to read today:

Republican wave fails to materialise as US midterm results roll in (Financial Times)

Donald Trump is the biggest loser of 2022 midterms (Daily Telegraph)