Asian stocks gain as U.S. earnings top estimates, final presidential debate propels Mexico's peso

NEW YORK, U.S. - Asian stocks gained on Wednesday on the back of robust July-September earnings of American companies and near 15-month highs of crude oil prices, while the Mexican peso touched record levels after the third and final U.S. presidential debate.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 0.6 percent, while China's CSI 300 was almost flat.  

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.2 percent, and Japan's Nikkei extended gains to 1.1 percent as the yen weakened.

The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2 percent overnight, after Morgan Stanley registered a better-than-expected quarterly profit. Out of the 70 companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings through Wednesday morning, 80 percent have surpassed expectations.

Oil prices rose sharply after an unexpectedly large inventory decline of 5.2 million barrels, compared with a forecast for a 2.7-million barrel stockpile. Energy shares, taking a cue from the data, edged up. 

U.S. crude slid 0.5 percent to $51.34 a barrel on Thursday, after surging 2.6 percent to close at $51.60 in the previous session. It earlier touched $51.93, the highest since July 2015. Brent crude pulled back 0.4 percent to $52.46, after rising 1.9 percent on Wednesday.

The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 103.75 yen on Thursday after falling 0.4 percent on Wednesday.

Mexico’s peso has largely been a reflection of investor sentiment prior to the U.S. elections, invariably falling when Donald Trump’s campaign appears to have an upper hand, and gaining when Hillary Clinton makes inroads. Trump's radical stance on Mexican migration and trade is widely believed to severely disadvantage America's southern neighbour if he wins.  

The currency is up more than 7 percent since the first presidential debate on September 26.

In the third debate, the Republican candidate desperately tried to win back lost ground amid surveys that show momentum fast tilting away from him. 

The dollar held fort at 18.5027 Mexican pesos, after earlier hitting 18.44 pesos, the lowest since September 9. It is down 2.6 percent this week against the Mexican currency.

The euro, too, fell 0.1 percent to $1.0963 ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday.

Investors expect the central bank to keep policy rates unchanged, but are keeping an eye on whether President Mario Draghi will give any indication on when it may begin tapering its bond purchase program.