Clinton lifts Kiwi

The NZ dollar gained as a strong performance by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the US presidential debate stoked investors’ appetite for risk-sensitive assets. The kiwi rose to US72.90c at 5pm from US72.68c at 8am and US72.39c yesterday. The trade-weighted index increased to 77.26 from 76.93. Clinton kept her Republican rival Donald Trump on the defensive in their first debate before the November 8 election, calming investors who have been nervous about polling that has the candidates neck-and-neck.