By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures climbed on Tuesday as Americans headed to the polls to vote in the race for the White House, while an interest rate cut from Australia raised hopes of further aggressive global moves to ease an economic slowdown. Global stocks gained after Australia's central bank cut interest rates by a bigger-than-expected 3/4 point. Central banks in the euro zone and the Bank of England meet later in the week and could add to global efforts to lower the cost of borrowing. But the election will be in the spotlight, with Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain in five of eight key battleground states, according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls released on Tuesday. "The fact is, the passage of the U.S. election might actually come as a relief to the market rather than uncertainty, as once the election is done, the political spectrum of the U.S. will be quite clear for the next four years," said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto. The interest rates banks charge each other for short term loans also fell again, providing further hope that measures to shore up the credit markets are taking hold. The Treasury Department is considering using more of its $700 billion rescue package to buy stakes in a wide range of financial companies beyond just banks and insurers after tentative signs the program is working, according to the Wall Street Journal. The paper cited sources familiar with the matter saying the companies in focus include bond insurers and specialty finance firms such as General Electric Co's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) GE Capital unit and CIT Group Inc (CIT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). For details, see [ID:nBNG289993]. Shares of GE rose 2.4 percent to $19.76 in premarket action. S&P 500 futures SPc1 rose 24.30 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 climbed 218 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures added 35 points. At least 130 million Americans are expected to cast votes on a successor to President George W. Bush and set the country's course for the next four years on the economic crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an overhaul of health care and other issues. The first polls begin to close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) on Tuesday. Voting ends over the next six hours in the other 48 states. Monday's drop in oil prices also eased anxiety over pressures on consumer and corporate spending in the wake of high energy prices. Crude was up 69 cents at $64.60 on Tuesday. In the latest round of quarterly results, Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a sharply higher profit, sending its shares up more than 11 percent at $23.47 before the opening bell. Viacom Inc (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), owner of MTV Networks and Paramount movie studio, reported a drop in quarterly profit after the closing bell on Monday, highlighting the effect an intensifying advertising slump is having on media companies. Stocks ended little changed on Monday as investors picked up bargains on signs of further thawing in credit markets, but were unwilling to place big bets ahead of the election. (Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source