Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump after first presidential debate: Poll

Clinton is leading Republican rival Trump by 4 per cent after their first televised debate

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is leading Republican rival Donald Trump by 4 per cent after their first televised debate, according to a poll.

The poll published by the Public Policy Polling (PPP) institute on Thursday showed Clinton received the support of 44 per cent of the 933 voters consulted in telephone or online interviews, EFE news reported. The poll was conducted between Tuesday and wednesday.

Trump, meanwhile, received the backing of 40 per cent of the voter sample.

Fifty-four per cent of those surveyed said that Clinton beat Trump in the first prime time presidential debate on Monday at the Hofstra University on Long Island, New York.

Thirty-one per cent of those polled said that the billionaire emerged as the winner of the contest, the most-watched such event in US history, according to the PPP poll, which has an error margin of 3.2 per cent.

According to the RealClearPolitics Web site, which prepares an average of all voter surveys conducted in the country, Clinton is leading Trump by 3 per cent on the national level.

The former secretary of state and the New York businessman will face off in the second debate on October 9 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

The third and final debate will take place on October 19 in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.