GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, Mexican peso advance ahead of U.S. election results

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NEW YORK Global equity markets climbed and the Mexican peso rallied on Tuesday as investors leaned toward the potential victory of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election.

Markets turned higher after treading water for the early portion of the session, although U.S. equities retreated from their session highs.

While the dollar strengthened slightly against a basket of currencies, the Mexican peso shot to a two-month high versus the greenback.

The Mexican currency has been a market proxy for sentiment over the U.S. election and has performed in inverse correlation with Republican candidate Donald Trump's perceived chances of winning the White House. The iShares MSCI Mexico ETF, touched its highest level since mid-August and was last up 2.2 percent.

Mexico is considered most vulnerable to Trump's planned trade policies as 80 percent of its exports go to the United States.

Market participants cited projections from data firm Votecastr, which showed Clinton in the lead in several battleground states.

"The Votecastr thing is absolutely helping the market move higher," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "Investors will take whatever data they can get, although I really don’t know how accurate the data is."

The market has been pricing in a win for Clinton, including a 2 percent jump in the S&P 500 on Monday after the FBI maintained its view that no criminal charges were warranted in a probe over her email practices.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 70.29 points, or 0.38 percent, to 18,329.89, the S&P 500 gained 6.1 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,137.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.03 points, or 0.39 percent, to 5,186.20.

Safety play gold weakened, down 0.3 percent to $1,276.65 an ounce and yields on U.S. Treasuries touched a one-week high.

At the end of a bruising election campaign, the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 percent chance of defeating Trump and said she was on track to win 303 Electoral College votes out of 270 needed, to Trump's 235.

Europe's index of 300 leading shares, which posted its biggest gain in two months on Monday, closed 0.3 percent higher. MSCI's all-country world index was up 0.4 percent after notching its best day since late June on Monday.

Clinton, generally seen as a known quantity, has been the preferred candidate for investors over political wild card Trump. But markets remained wary, noting Britain's shock vote in June to leave the European Union had caught investors and pollsters off guard.

"I’d be a little hesitant to waive the all clear signal at this point," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell 11/32 in price to yield 1.8672 percent after touching a high of 1.876 percent, up from Monday's 1.828 percent. Thanks.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks jittery after election-linked selling; oil prices weak

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NEW YORK Global equity markets were jittery on Friday, even as Wall Street clung to modest gains as investors looked past worries about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election to snap an eight-day losing streak.

Oil prices remained weak on skepticism about whether OPEC members will adhere to planned production limits, boosting concerns about low inflation and sending U.S. Treasury prices higher.

A dismal outing for Asian and European share indexes weighed on MSCI's 47-country "All World" index .MIWD00000PUS, which was down 0.31 percent, but the index was supported by Wall Street.

U.S. stocks found favor with investors after eight straight days of losses, the longest losing streak since 2008, which sent the S&P 500 index down 2.9 percent.

"Investors are buying anything that looks like a dip and that is because the fundamentals continue to be pretty good even though I think there is a lot of anxiety about next week’s election," said Kate Warne, investment strategist with Edward Jones in St. Louis.

"With the pullback, I think investors are seeing some bargains out there."

An upbeat jobs report helped soothe nerves. U.S. employers maintained a strong pace of hiring in October and boosted wages, which could effectively seal the case for a December interest rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve. [nLNN4MEC7Q]

"This was a very good report. With the hourly wage number beginning to accelerate, the Fed will have all the cover it needs to raise rates in December," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania.

Economists also said the upbeat employment report could provide a boost to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton against her Republican rival Donald Trump as the race to the White House tightens and becomes increasingly bitter and divisive.

Investors have been unnerved by signs the race is tightening; Clinton had until recently been thought to have a clear lead.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 8.15 points, or 0.05 percent, to 17,922.52, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.76 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,090.42 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.68 point, or 0.01 percent, to 5,059.09.

European shares slumped, weighed down by weaker drugmakers after two U.S. lawmakers called on federal antitrust regulators to open an investigation into possible price fixing.

Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed down 0.79 percent at 1,296.32.

Oil futures were on course for their biggest weekly percentage declines since January of just under 10 percent as signs of tensions resurfaced between Saudi Arabia and Iran that could scupper a key supply cut pact.

Riyadh told a meeting of OPEC experts last week that it could raise oil output steeply to bring prices down if Tehran refuses to limit its supply, OPEC sources say.

Brent crude LCOc1 settled down 77 cents, or 1.66 percent, at $45.58 a barrel, and U.S. crude CLc1 settled down 59 cents, or 1.32 percent, at $44.07.

The weakness in oil prices raised concerns about low inflation and boosted U.S. Treasury prices. Uncertainty about the election also enhanced the appeal of the lower-risk assets.

Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR were up 8/32 in price to yield 1.78 percent, after rising as high as 1.83 percent on the employment data.

While the solid U.S. jobs report supported expectations for a December Federal Reserve interest rate hike, it failed to stem losses for the U.S. dollar.

Nervousness ahead of next week's election has hit the greenback in recent days and the dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1 pct, near a three-week low.

Gold steadied, heading for its biggest weekly rise since mid-September as jitters over the election offset the solid payrolls report.

Spot gold prices XAU= were little changed at $1,302.89 an ounce. Thanks.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slip on U.S. election nerves; pound up on Brexit ruling

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NEW YORK Global equity prices drifted lower on Thursday as worries about the U.S. presidential election continued to weigh on investor sentiment, while sterling rose after a UK court ruled that the British government needed Parliament's approval to trigger Brexit.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices slipped after the Bank of England indicated that inflation is likely to rise further, and oil prices remained weak on skepticism about OPEC's planned production limit.

MSCI's 47-country "All World" index .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.37 percent, dragged down by weakness on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 .SPX fell for an eighth straight session, its longest losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis, as Facebook shares weighed and investors grappled with uncertainty over next week's U.S. election.

Facebook (FB.O) shares fell as much as 6 percent, a day after the social media giant warned that revenue growth would slow this quarter.

"The polls have tightened and now the concern is more about what might a Trump presidency look like and the market hasn't quite priced that in," said Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer of Bryn Mawr Trust in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

"Given the fact that the election is five days away, that's what's driving near-term behavior right now."

Investors have been unnerved in recent days by signs that the U.S. presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump was tightening just days before Tuesday's vote.

The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, a gauge of near-term investor anxiety, rose 14 percent to its highest level since late June.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 28.97 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 17,930.67, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 9.28 points, or 0.44 percent, to finish at 2,088.66 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 47.16 points, or 0.92 percent, to end at 5,058.41.

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended flat, giving up early gains as a strengthened pound weighed on the shares of internationally exposed companies, including Diageo (DGE.L).

Sterling surged to a four-week high after the UK court ruling soothed concerns about Brexit and the Bank of England scrapped plans to cut interest rates. It climbed as much as 1.5 percent to hit $1.2494 GBP=D4, its strongest since Oct. 7.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar hovered near multi-week lows against a basket of major currencies, ending a morning reprieve in which the greenback stabilized, on uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. The dollar index .DXY was down 0.25 percent to 97.156.

"We're now seeing markets price in a higher risk of a Trump presidency," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. "Most polls are still showing that it’s far too close to call, and that's ultimately what is keeping investors nervous."

In bond markets, longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices fell after the Bank of England indicated that inflation is likely to rise further, while uncertainty over the U.S. election propped up shorter-dated debt.

The BoE ramped up its forecasts for growth and predicted that inflation would jump to 2.7 percent this time next year, nearly triple its current level. [nL8N1D45PY]

Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR ended down 5/32 in price to yield 1.82 percent, up from 1.80 percent late on Wednesday.

Oil prices extended their recent slide as investors reacted to a record weekly surge in U.S. crude inventories and remained skeptical about whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries can actually implement its planned output cap.

Brent crude LCOc1 settled down 51 cents, or 1.09 percent, at $46.35 a barrel, and U.S. crude CLc1 settled down 68 cents, or 1.50 percent, at $44.66.

Gold edged higher in response to the lower dollar and uncertainty about the outcome of the U.S. presidential race.

Spot gold prices XAU= were up 0.49 percent to $1,303.26.  Thanks.