Stocks Fall as Gold Climbs With Swiss Franc on Election Anxiety

01-Nov (Bloomberg) — Stocks fell to the lowest since July, while gold rose with the Swiss franc amid heightened anxiety a week before the U.S. presidential vote.

Equities joined a selloff in riskier assets after an election poll showed Republican candidate Donald Trump ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton in the race. Mexico’s peso, which is seen as a proxy for market perception on the vote, led losses among the world’s major currencies. Meanwhile, the Swiss franc and Japanese yen rallied as traders looked for haven. Gold climbed to a one-month high. Treasuries were little changed.

Traders dumped riskier assets following an ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll that showed Trump with 46 percent support to Clinton’s 45 percent. Stress in financial markets has been increasing as the U.S. presidential campaign enters its closing phase. A Bank of America Corp. gauge tracking volatility expectations in global equities, bonds, currencies and commodities has climbed for five straight days, the longest streak since before the British vote to leave the European Union.

…Gold gained for a fourth day as the dollar extended its retreat from a seven-month high.

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