We'll be following the projected results as they come in. Harris and Trump each need at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. For a more detailed explainer on how the electoral college system works, visit our Instagram page under rthk_enews.
1.16pm
RTHK's San Francisco correspondent, Mark Niu, says Trump has a commanding lead so far. The Associated Press shows Trump narrowly leading in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which comes with the most electoral votes at 19. He said this was ironic, given that the state has the third largest Puerto Rican population in the US mainland, and that Trump called it a "floating island of garbage".
"In exit polling, it appears that Trump is actually doing well among Latino voters," Niu said.
1.13pm
Republicans have won control of the US Senate, picking up seats West Virginia and Ohio. And top House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.
12.45pm
US networks are projecting Trump will win North Carolina, the first of seven battleground states. CNN, NBC and ABC News all called the race in Trump's favour in the southeastern state, which he also won in the 2020 election.
12.35pm
Harris has won California, taking its huge slate of 54 electoral votes, while Trump was projected to win in Idaho and Iowa, US networks said. Harris also won in the West Coast state of Oregon. So far, that gives Trump 211 electoral votes and Harris 153.
RTHK's San Francisco correspondent Mark Niu said the race is still far from over and that the wins that have been projected so far were expected. He added that attention is on the key swing states, adding Harris' performance was not as strong as expected.
"It's margins in places like Virginia, where Harris is barely winning, when she was expected to dominate that have caused great concern for Democrats."
12.29pm
Republicans are also vying for control of the US House and Senate. While all eyes are on the White House race, hundreds of congressional elections will determine how much of the next president's agenda gets enacted.
Republicans are nudging ahead in their mission to wrest control of the Senate from the Democrats. US media have reported that Republican Bernie Moreno, a onetime car dealer who was born in Colombia, flipped an additional Senate seat for his party, besting a Democratic incumbent who has held the post since 2007. Republicans need to net just two Senate seats to win a majority in the chamber.
12.16pm
The Associated Press' electoral college map shows Trump in the lead in six of the seven swing states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
12.05pm
Trump has called into a Wisconsin radio station to say: “I’m watching these results. So far so good". Harris did phone interviews with radio stations in the battleground states, then visited Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington carrying a box of Doritos – her go-to snack.
The closeness of the race and the number of states in play raised the likelihood that, once again, a victor might not be known on election night. Trump said on Tuesday that he had no plans to tell his supporters to refrain from violence if Harris wins, because they “are not violent people”. Federal, state and local officials have expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation’s election systems. And both sides have armies of lawyers in anticipation of legal challenges on and after Election Day.
So far, Trump has 211 electoral votes and Harris 145. The key battleground states, including Georgia and Pennsylvania, have yet to be called.
11.30am
Diana Parusheva-Lowery, was at the watch party at the Hong Kong American Chamber of Commerce. The financial services worker said businesses have to work with whoever wins, and she hopes to see constructive dialogue between China and the United States after America chooses its new leader.
"I think if there are more tariffs, if there are more investment restrictions, this is going to restrict trade flows, investment flows and ultimately capital flows. But equally, if Kamala Harris wins, she also has her policies towards China which also have an effect, might be similar, might be different, we hear a lot during this campaign, but what will ultimately materialise is anybody’s guess," she told RTHK.
Trump meanwhile has won four more states, including the Rust Belt prize Ohio, Kansas, Montana and Utah, while US networks projected a Harris victory in Colorado. So far, Trump is ahead with 201 electoral votes and Harris with 91.
11.15am
As investors take in the early results of the US presidential election, the value of Bitcoin has rallied to a record high. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency hit as much as US$75,005.08.
Maxwell Li, who works at a Hong Kong-based fintech company said: "Bitcoin is flying. However, this could also be a 'buy the rumour, sell the news' pump as commonly seen in traditional financial markets".
The US dollar also surged around 1.5 percent against the yen and the euro as traders weighed the budgetary implications of a Trump win.
11.00am
A British shipping worker in Hong Kong, Raj, is at a watch party being held at a pub in Central. Raj said he’s not surprised to see Trump leading at this stage but he believes the Democrats will take over eventually.
"The Republicans always take an early lead…typically when you watch an election like this it always looks like the Republicans are winning, but it’s going to be very close, so I think at the end, we’re going to see the Democrats coming forward," he said.
“I want to follow the results of this election because I think it has an impact geopolitically all over the world," Raj added.
10.51am
Trump and Harris are so far notching early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states. Polls have closed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina, six of the seven closely fought battlegrounds expected to decide the election, but the results there were too early to call. But results from the other states are tumbling in with US media projecting wins for Trump in Louisiana and Mississippi. Harris meanwhile, has won the big prize state of Illinois.
10.26am
As more polls across the country close, Trump has claimed four more states – Texas, North Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming, according to US media projections. Harris has won Delaware, Rhode Island and New York. This would give Harris 81 electoral votes and Trump 168.
10.17am
Chris Growney who was at the watch party organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said a Republican in the White House will lift business sentiment in the US.
"The businesses that are in the States would be treated with better tax efficiency, have better opportunities to create new jobs. And ideally, if there are potentially higher tariffs on imports then that could potentially help American businesses."
Dozens also gathered at the University of Hong Kong to watch the early result projections. The event was organised by the university's School of Modern Languages and Cultures. A teaching assistant, Wang, from Texas said the results are so far within her expectations.
"We expect the red states to go red and the blue states to go blue. So no surprises so far. I'm more interested in Texas, about what's going to happen in the Senate, because that's really close this time around."
10.05am
Polls in 15 states close, including the crucial electoral battlegrounds of Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.
9.57am
The latest projected results have Republican former president Donald Trump winning Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has so far captured Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont and the US capital Washington, DC.
This would give Harris 27 electoral votes and Trump 105, with both needing to reach 270 to win.
9.54am
Here in Hong Kong, the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) has organised a watch party for people to see the live results coming in for the US elections.
Chamber president Eden Woon says the result will determine how the relationship between China and the United States will move forward – which will have a direct impact on Hong Kong as well.
“It is very important for Hong Kong because Hong Kong has a very close trade relationship with the United States. Historically, it has a very good connection with the United States’ civil society and here many people, many businesses have an interest in the United States. So we are also watching to see what happens in this election”, he said.
Businessman Mark Wise is one of those at the party. He says while he does not have a personal preference between Trump and Harris, he just wants to see a decisive victory for a new leader that will take the country forward.
9.36am
US investigators are looking into apparent hoax bomb threats that were directed at polling locations in four battleground states - Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin as voting was underway.
"None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far," the FBI said in a statement, adding that election integrity was among the bureau's highest priorities.
At least two polling sites targeted by the hoax bomb threats in Georgia were briefly evacuated.
Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, blamed Russian interference for the Election Day bomb hoaxes.
"They're up to mischief, it seems. They don't want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can get us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory," Raffensperger told reporters.
The Russian embassy in Washington said insinuations about Russian interference were "malicious slander."
"We would like to emphasize that Russia has not interfered and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States," the embassy said in a statement. "As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, we respect the will of the American people." (AP)
9.29am
Projections are also giving Trump wins in Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia, which would give the Republican 99 electoral votes so far.
But the election results will likely again fall to seven battleground states, with opinion polls showing the rivals neck and neck in all seven - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - going into Election Day. (AFP)
9.18am
US networks are projecting that Republican former president Donald Trump has won the election in Florida, Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, while Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has taken Maryland, Massachusetts and the US capital, Washington DC.
So far, that gives Harris 27 electoral votes and Trump has 90. (AFP)
9.00am
Polls have closed on the east coast, including key swing states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
