LONDON: European and Asian stock markets rebounded strongly Friday, with traders signalling that the tragic murder of a pro-Europe lawmaker in Britain could swing the upcoming referendum vote to remain in the EU.
The pound was also firmer after campaigning was suspended following the murder Thursday of Labour MP Jo Cox, one week before the June 23 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.
"The suspension of campaigning for the UK EU referendum after the tragic death of Labour MP Jo Cox boosted risk appetite," said Nick Stamenkovic, an analyst at broker RIA Capital Markets.
"The pound and euro rebounded on the news but the yen softened."
Following a week of largely heavy falls, stock markets rallied Friday also thanks to eurozone finance ministers agreeing to unlock 7.5 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in urgently needed cash for Greece, dealers said.
Banking shares in particular were strong, with Barclays up 4.0 percent in London and Societe Generale over 5.0 percent in Paris -- and Banco Popolare surging 12 percent in Milan, pushing the FTSE Mib index up over 3.0 percent.
Around 1345 GMT, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 1.0 percent compared with the close on Thursday.
In the eurozone, both Frankfurt's DAX 30 index and the Paris CAC 40 also rallied around 1.0 percent.
Wall Street however opened slightly lower on reports of a crackdown on Apple by China that offset rising optimism that Britain will vote to stay in the EU. The Dow slipped 0.2 percent around 20 minutes into trading, and the S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite indexes were off 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
With polls recently suggesting that the EU referendum outcome was too close to call, investors had been piling into safe haven investments, notably the yen, gold and German government bonds.
Gold, which hit a near two-year high at $1,315.71 an ounce Thursday, fell back to $1,289.33 an ounce Friday.
- Greek lift -
Britain's bitter voting campaign was on hold Friday for a second day as the nation reeled from the death of Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker.
The advance of European stock markets "follows gains in both the US (on Thursday) and Asia that can be attributed to diminished fears of a UK exit from the European Union", said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.
"The assumption is that the tragic event will sway the undecided to vote 'Remain' and possibly even reverse some of the 'Leave' momentum seen in recent polls."
Witnesses told local media that Cox had been repeatedly shot and stabbed.
A 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested. Described by neighbours as a loner, there were indications that he had extreme right leanings.
Markets won a lift also from Greece receiving the bailout cash late Thursday, which came after thousands of Greeks protested in Athens a day earlier over new cuts imposed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in return for the money.
- Key figures around 1345 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 6,018.05
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.1 percent at 9,655.96
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 4,193.88
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.17 percent at 2,852.31
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.2 percent at 17,707.35
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 2,072.52
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,820.39
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 15,599.66 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 2,885.11 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.7 percent at 20,169.98 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1271 from $1.1229 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.428 from $1.4211
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 104.27 yen from 104.29 yen
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