Stocks and sterling rally as Betfair Remain odds surge to 84%

Equity markets took another leg higher on Thursday morning, along with the pound, as the odds of a Remain vote in the EU referendum at bookmaker Betfair surged to 84%.

The bookie said the implied probability of Brexit shifted from 22.7% to 17.2% in the space of a few minutes earlier on Thursday.

The news sent the pound flying, while stocks also extended their gains, with the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index up 1.8% and the FTSE 100 up 1.5%.

Meanwhile, sterling was up 0.3% versus the dollar at $1.4831, having hit a six-month high of $1.844 against the greenback in Asian trading.

FXTM Research analyst Lukman Otunuga said: “The bookmakers are notorious for their accurate predictions and with most highly favouring the Bremain camp, expectations have risen of a potential Bremain victory.

“The GBPUSD sprung to fresh 2016 highs during trading on Thursday as a combination of Bremain optimism and dollar weakness offered a foundation for bulls to attack. Although this pair remains technically bullish on the daily timeframe, prices may be open to very wild swings as the day progresses. A Bremain victory could propel the GBPUSD towards 1.500 while a Brexit should trigger a violent selloff back towards the lows of 2016 around the 1.3850 regions.”

The FTSE 100 popped higher still, while the pound surged again after the results of a poll by Ipsos Mori for the Evening Standard released at 1100 BST showed 52% of respondents supported the Remain campaign, with 48% on the Leave side.

Sterling surged to $1.4866 on the news.