By Laura Matthews and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Multinational companies are beefing up their foreign exchange hedging strategies to guard their overseas earnings from larger currency swings that could come from a second Donald Trump presidency.

Since the U.S. election three weeks ago, strategists and bankers said they are seeing more interest in options and cross-currency swaps as companies, including those in healthcare and industrial sectors, focus on how volatile currencies may be under Trump.

"The election is a big catalyst for hedgers to think about currency risk," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at payments company Corpay in Toronto.

"Businesses that for a long time were relatively comfortable with the direction and the scale of exchange-rate moves are being shocked out of that complacency."

Trump's election is introducing volatility into foreign-exchange markets as his victory clears the way for tariffs and protectionist trade policies that were the hallmark of his first term.

Trump said on Monday he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, on his first day in office, citing concerns over illegal immigration and illicit drugs.

The news prompted the peso to drop as much as 2% while the Canadian dollar fell as much as 1.4%.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency's strength against six peers, has risen 3.5% since the Nov. 5 election, broadly on expectations Trump's policies on trade and tariffs will be dollar-supportive. Scott Bessent, Trump's U.S. Treasury secretary pick, has favored a strong dollar and supported tariffs.

Adding to the uncertainty is the 2026 review of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that outlined tariff provisions and was implemented during Trump's first term. Trump has said he intends to make the agreement "a much better deal," although details of changes are unclear.

Trump's first term, which was marked by big swings in trade-sensitive currencies, highlighted the need for more hedging, analysts said.

At the same time, global central banks are trying to normalize interest-rate policy while balancing growth and inflation concerns, another potential source of volatility in the coming months.

About 94% of senior finance decision-makers at UK and U.S. companies in a Nov. 7-18 MillTechFX survey said the U.S. election outcome was prompting them to change their foreign-exchange hedging strategies.

Some are seeking to extend the duration of hedges, while others look to bump up their hedge ratios - the proportion of their overall foreign-exchange exposure that is protected.