Asian shares and the dollar steadied Tuesday with risk appetite contained by uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and renewed doubts over Greece's ability to push through severe fiscal measures.

Risk-aversion underpinned the dollar near a two-month high against a basket of other currencies of 80.843 hit on Monday, while pressing the euro down 0.1 percent to $1.2782, near Monday's two-month low of $1.2767, Reuters reported.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was nearly unchanged, pulled higher by a 0.3 percent rise in Australian shares and a 0.2 percent increase in South Korean shares, but countered by weakness in most other Asian equities.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent, dragged down by a drop in the index heavyweight HSBC Holdings. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4 percent.

If the U.S. election is too close to call in a number of states and the result is delayed, it could roil markets as the protracted 2000 election battle did. Analysts have said Barack Obama's re-election is perceived as negative for equities, while markets see Mitt Romney as stock-friendly, according to Reuters.

U.S. crude futures were down 0.1 percent at $85.59 a barrel and Brent inched up 0.2 percent to $107.92.

Asian credit markets were subdued with investor risk aversion intact, leaving the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index little changed from Monday.

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