US stocks jump 1.5% as FBI email review clears Clinton

[NEW YORK] US stocks jumped about 1.5 per cent early Monday, joining a global rally after the FBI lifted the threat that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could face charges over her emails.

The early gains snapped a nine-day losing streak for the S&P 500 as controversial Republican candidate Donald Trump has gained ground on Mrs Clinton, the preferred choice of markets.

About 20 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 was up 1.6 per cent to 2,118.03 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.5 per cent to 18,159.54.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.7 per cent to 5,132.55.

National polls released over the weekend gave Mrs Clinton a four and five point lead and suggested the Democrat has a much more plausible road to victory than Mr Trump in the Electoral College. However, the RealClear Politics average of national polls gives Mrs Clinton a two-point lead.

The boost came after the FBI announced Sunday that it had reviewed additional emails and still saw no reason to bring charges against Mrs Clinton. Observers were unsure how the announcement would affect the outcome although the latest polls may not fully capture the impact.

The FBI's announcement October 28 that it was reviewing newly-discovered emails linked to Mrs Clinton's server jolted the race, leading to a sharp tightening of the polls.

"Polls still show a fairly tight race, and with the Brexit surprise still fresh in participants' memory, there is a reluctance to take the polling information for granted," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said.

AFP