Hillary Clinton won second US presidential debate, Donald Trump exceeded expectations: Poll

St Louis: Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was today projected as the "clear winner" of the second US presidential debate but her Republican rival Donald Trump "exceeded expectations", a CNN poll said.

The CNN/ORC poll of debate watchers said Clinton was the clear winner in the debate, with 57 percent saying Clinton won as opposed to 34 per cent for Trump.

CNN said it was a strong showing for the 68-year-old former secretary of state, but not as good as her performance at the first presidential debate, when 62 per cent of debate watchers said she won.

A CNN/ORC poll conducted after the September 27 showdown between the two presidential nominees in the first of the three debates had also shown Clinton as the clear winner, with nearly 62 per cent of voters supporting her as compared to Trump, who was deemed winner by only 27 per cent.

The results also track closely with watchers' pre-debate preference.

Fifty-eight per cent of debate watchers said they were supporting Clinton before the debate.