* Clinton leads Trump in most polls
* Stocks, dollar flat
* Oil up - but gold too
* Markets trade in narrow ranges
By Marc Jones and Jamie McGeever
LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Stocks and the dollar were little changed on Tuesday as global investors trod carefully, readying for the outcome of one of the most contentious U.S. presidential elections in history.
Trade was largely driven by cautious expectations of a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton, but some sharp swings in recent days across all asset classes meant big bets were relatively thin on the ground as Americans started voting.
Wall Street's S&P 500 .SPX , Dow Jones ESc1 , and Nasdaq markets were expected to open a touch lower having enjoyed their best day since March on Monday, while the dollar .DXY held steady as bonds and gold made ground. .N US. GOL/
"While the market is broadly pricing in a Clinton victory, we are well away from the final results," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group.
"It is certainly too early to speculate. The least we can say is that the risk appetite is quite firm for such a high event-risk day."
At the end of a bruising election campaign, the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 percent chance of defeating Republican Donald Trump and said she was on track to win 303 Electoral College votes out of 270 needed, to Trump's 235. Race to the White House http://tmsnrt.rs/298mTyD)
Europe's index of leading 300 shares .FTEU3 , which posted its biggest gain in two months on Monday, was flat ahead of U.S. trading. A modest 0.15 percent gain for Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE was balanced by 0.1 percent dips in both Germany .GDAXI and France .FCHI
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS had ended up 0.6 percent overnight though Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 ended flat. MSCI's global index of world shares .MIWD00000PUS was up 0.1 percent.
BREXIT REVISITED?
China's CSI 300 index .CSI300 index added 0.4 percent, with relief over improving prospects of a Clinton win offsetting bigger-than-expected declines in both imports and exports and a smaller-than-forecast trade balance in October. is generally seen by investors as offering greater certainty and stability, and, until stumbling last week after FBI Director James Comey said the agency was reviewing newly discovered emails, had been seen as the clear favourite.
While surveys last week showed Republican candidate Donald Trump closing in on Clinton's lead, at least five major polls on Monday showed her still ahead. investors remained wary, noting Britain's shock vote in June to leave the European Union had wrongfooted bookmakers and most pollsters.
"A Trump victory would be a clear risk-off event that would trigger significant reactions and equity markets would take a sharp hit, at least in the short term," said Andreas Johnson, economist at Swedish bank SEB.
"However, the tightening of the polls indicate that the risk of a very close result is substantial.".
In currency markets the dollar, which had its best day in a month on Monday, edged slightly lower. The dollar index .DXY , a measure of its value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.2 percent as the euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1060 EUR= .
Having recorded its biggest one-day increase against the yen in almost four months on Monday, the dollar JPY=D4 was flat against the Japanese currency at 104.40 yen on Tuesday.
It was also flat at 18.5855 versus the Mexican peso MXN=D2 , which has ebbed and flowed in recent weeks in tandem with the perceived chances of a Trump victory.
The currency is seen as a proxy for bets on the election because Mexico is considered most vulnerable to Trump's trade policies as 80 percent of its exports go to the United States.
Most bond yields retreated on Tuesday after rising across the board on Monday. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell one basis point to 1.815 percent US10YT=RR .
Crude oil futures were drifting lower too, with U.S. crude CLc1 down 0.5 percent at $44.66 a barrel and global benchmark Brent LCOc1 down 0.3 percent at $46.00 having both gained more than 1 percent on Monday.
But safety plays were also in favour as gold XAU= climbed 0.1 percent to $1,285 an ounce, erasing some of its 1.7 percent loss from the previous session.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Shanghai CSI 300 and global effects interactive
https://t.co/YqIYLIbInP Chinese A-shares vs developed and emerging stocks
http://link.reuters.com/rac25w
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (editing by John Stonestreet)