Copper prices were muted on Wednesday as traders braced for a tightly contested U.S. presidential election and awaited top metals consumer China to roll out further stimulus measures.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) edged up 0.1% at $9,542 per metric ton, as of 0749 GMT, while the most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed 0.2% higher to 76,670 yuan ($10,756.02) a ton.

Earlier in the session, both contracts clocked in slight losses before rebounding to trade higher.

The neck-to-neck U.S. election, due on Nov. 5, will reveal how economic policies will form in the world's biggest economy in the next four years, which could also provide clues on the impact on metals.

China's top legislative body will meet on Nov. 4-8. The country is considering approving next week the issuance of more than 10 trillion yuan in extra debt in the next few years to revive its fragile economy, sources told Reuters.

Increasing tensions in the Middle East are also pushing investors towards safe-haven assets such as gold and the U.S. dollar, and reduced risk appetite in other markets such as base metals, a metals trader said.

The dollar has been hovering around its highest levels since August, making greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The premium to import copper into China has also been falling and was at $48 a ton on Tuesday, the lowest since Aug. 5 and indicating weaker demand.

LME aluminium eased 0.1% to $2,655.50 a ton, nickel edged 0.2% higher at $15,900, lead was up 0.5% at $2,013, tin increased 0.6% higher to $31,280 and zinc fell 0.1% to $3,119.50.

SHFE aluminium edged up 0.4% at 20,865 yuan a ton, nickel increased 0.2% to 124,690 yuan, zinc declined 0.2% to 25,030 yuan, lead rose 0.3% to 16,730 yuan and tin eased 0.1% to 255,320 yuan.

($1 = 7.1281 yuan)

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sonia Cheema)