London open: Stocks and sterling tentatively climb as EU referendum voting begins

London stocks and the pound both moved higher on Thursday morning as polling stations opened for the UK referendum on EU membership, following a late tilt towards the Remain campaign in polls overnight.

The FTSE 100 climbed around 28 points or 0.45% to 6,289.71, while the more UK-focused 250 was up 64 points or 0.38% to 17,107.55 just after 0900 BST.

All of the FTSE sectors opened in the green, with energy and miners the frontrunners in London.

The pound traded to a fresh six-month high of 1.4844 against the US dollar.

European markets opened tentatively higher following another mixed session in Asia and a negative US finish as markets around the world cross their fingers about the Brexit vote.

"Despite the positive trend in the UK markets, the event risk remains high," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya
market analyst at LCG. "The sentiment could rapidly turn sour should the slightest panic regarding the Brexit vote hit the headlines. Any sell-off could gain momentum as many investors would not hesitate to close their long positions and turn flat before the outcome of the historical Brexit referendum. Offers are eyed at 6300/6325 zone."

Financial markets were pretty calm, with investors seemingly hopeful of a Remain vote but overnight polls suggesting a neck-and-neck race.

The latest polls from ComRes for the Daily Mail and ITV and the polls conducted by YouGov for the Times both showed an increase in support for the Remain campaign.

In terms of data, the preliminary Eurozone composite PMI was down, as Manufacturing PMI was up and Services PMI down.

In the afternoon, watch out for Chicago Fed National Activity Index and Kansas City Fed manufacturing, both forecast flat for the latest month’s data although US PMI Manufacturing may be on for a small gain in June. US New Home Sales are seen lower in May while the US Leading Index may barely have grown in May.

Oil prices continued to rise, with Brent crude 0.6% stronger at $50.17a barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 0.5% at $49.36.

Corporate news was thin on the ground, but Tesco rallied in London after the supermarket operator's first-quarter results confirmed sales growth continued for the second successive period.

AstraZeneca was slightly lower after it confirmed disappointing news to investors on Thursday, with updated guidance from US regulators its FluMist Quadrivalent influenza vaccine is not used this coming season.

This was based on CDC vaccine effectiveness data from the last three flu seasons in the US, which indicated FluMist did not demonstrate statistically significant effectiveness in children aged between two and 17.

In the FSTE 250, packaging company DS Smith was a riser after it reported a small jump in full-year profit as revenue grew, partly thanks to acquisitions.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,294.04 0.52%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,105.23 0.36%
techMARK (TASX) 3,077.86 0.37%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 153.05p 2.82%
Tesco (TSCO) 169.65p 1.92%
CRH (CRH) 2,074.00p 1.92%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,505.00p 1.64%
Anglo American (AAL) 681.10p 1.58%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,235.00p 1.56%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,045.00p 1.55%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,692.00p 1.51%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 436.20p 1.49%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,683.00p 1.45%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

United Utilities Group (UU.) 930.50p -2.77%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 561.40p -0.94%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,177.00p -0.93%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 479.90p -0.87%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,127.00p -0.53%
Next (NXT) 5,435.00p -0.46%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,228.00p -0.40%
BAE Systems (BA.) 500.50p -0.40%
Experian (EXPN) 1,317.00p -0.38%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,837.00p -0.32%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 266.00p 6.78%
Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) 110.30p 4.55%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 403.20p 4.21%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 108.10p 3.15%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 1,036.00p 2.57%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 209.20p 2.55%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 71.60p 2.51%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 921.00p 2.39%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 278.40p 2.09%
Inchcape (INCH) 677.00p 1.88%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 286.30p -2.82%
Debenhams (DEB) 67.80p -2.73%
Mitie Group (MTO) 263.80p -2.30%
Henderson Group (HGG) 258.90p -2.23%
Elementis (ELM) 204.50p -2.01%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 302.00p -1.79%
Ascential (ASCL) 258.00p -1.75%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 187.40p -1.37%
Essentra (ESNT) 519.50p -1.33%
Keller Group (KLR) 959.00p -1.13%