Stocks edge up after US debate

STOCK markets inched higher, but the Mexican peso was mixed after the third and final US presidential debate, which was judged to have given no clear boost to Donald Trump’s hopes of winning the White House.

The peso is seen as the chief proxy for market pricing of the Republican candidate’s chances in view of his promises to impose tough limits on immigration.

It climbed to a six-week high against the dollar in the immediate aftermath of the debate but was down on the day in European trade.

A win for Democrat Hillary Clinton next month – now predicted clearly by polls – is also seen as opening the way for a rise in interest rates, which a number of US Federal Reserve policymakers have all but promised for December.

The peso lost 0.3 percent in early European trade to stand at 18.567 (about R13.8408) per dollar. Against a basket of currencies used to measure its broader strength, the dollar was up just under 0.1 percent, close to seven-month highs hit earlier this week.

“The likelihood of Donald Trump becoming president has nose-dived recently to as low as a one in eight probability… (and Wednesday) night’s debate has not provided that game-changing moment,” said Lee Hardman, a currency strategist with Bank of TokyoMitsubishi in London.

New York Fed president William Dudley overnight gave one of the clearest signals yet that the world’s largest economy is ready to take another step away from the ultra-low interest rates that have prevailed since the 2008 financial crash.

He said the Fed would move this year if the economy remained on track. Markets now price in a roughly 70 percent chance of a Fed hike in December.