AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian equities staged a rebound and the Mexican peso rallied Monday as traders breathed a sigh of relief after the FBI chief said market favourite Hillary Clinton would not face charges over her use of a private email server.
Investors were sent into a funk last week after James Comey said messages linked to the Democratic presidential nominee were being investigated, sending rival Donald Trump surging in opinion polls just days before the November 8 vote.
The former secretary of state is considered by most investors to be a safer bet than Trump, who is seen as a loose cannon with policies many fear could wreck the world’s top economy.
However, Comey on Sunday announced he would not change his July recommendation that Clinton not be prosecuted for allegedly putting US secrets at risk.
“Markets are likely to remove some of the risk premium taken as a precaution against a Trump victory now that Hillary Clinton will not be charged over her use of a private email server,” said CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner.
However, an element of uncertainty remains over this election. It seems unlikely that markets will make a full ‘risk on’ move until Clinton is declared the winner.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei ended 1.6 percent higher while Hong Kong closed up 0.7 percent, with banking giant HSBC more than two percent higher after it reported a forecast-beating rise in pre-tax profit.
Shanghai closed up 0.3 percent, Sydney added 1.4 percent and Seoul gained 0.8 percent, while Wellington soared 2.4 percent and Singapore put on 0.5 percent.
In early European trade London and Paris each jumped 1.6 percent and Frankfurt put on 1.4 percent.
Futures on Wall Street also rallied, with the broad-market S&P 500 and Dow each more than one percent higher.
The news also provided strong support for the Mexican peso, which soared more than two percent against the dollar Monday, having been battered last week.
The peso is considered a proxy for Trump’s chances because of his anti-Mexican rhetoric throughout the campaign-including his pledge to remove undocumented migrants, build a border wall and tear up a trade deal.
Asian equities staged a rebound and the Mexican peso rallied Monday as traders breathed a sigh of relief after the FBI chief said market favourite Hillary Clinton would not face charges over her use of a private email server.
Investors were sent into a funk last week after James Comey said messages linked to the Democratic presidential nominee were being investigated, sending rival Donald Trump surging in opinion polls just days before the November 8 vote.
The former secretary of state is considered by most investors to be a safer bet than Trump, who is seen as a loose cannon with policies many fear could wreck the world’s top economy.
However, Comey on Sunday announced he would not change his July recommendation that Clinton not be prosecuted for allegedly putting US secrets at risk.
“Markets are likely to remove some of the risk premium taken as a precaution against a Trump victory now that Hillary Clinton will not be charged over her use of a private email server,” said CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner.
However, an element of uncertainty remains over this election. It seems unlikely that markets will make a full ‘risk on’ move until Clinton is declared the winner.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei ended 1.6 percent higher while Hong Kong closed up 0.7 percent, with banking giant HSBC more than two percent higher after it reported a forecast-beating rise in pre-tax profit.
Shanghai closed up 0.3 percent, Sydney added 1.4 percent and Seoul gained 0.8 percent, while Wellington soared 2.4 percent and Singapore put on 0.5 percent.
In early European trade London and Paris each jumped 1.6 percent and Frankfurt put on 1.4 percent.
Futures on Wall Street also rallied, with the broad-market S&P 500 and Dow each more than one percent higher.
The news also provided strong support for the Mexican peso, which soared more than two percent against the dollar Monday, having been battered last week.
The peso is considered a proxy for Trump’s chances because of his anti-Mexican rhetoric throughout the campaign-including his pledge to remove undocumented migrants, build a border wall and tear up a trade deal.
