(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) The FTSE100 held onto most of its intraday gains to close over 3% higher on Monday after sentiment towards remaining in the EU grew.
The latest opinion polls pointed to a slim majority in favour of remaining in the European Union at Thursday''s referendum. Last week''s the Leave camp were ahead.
The tragic loss of a pro-EU campaigning MP, Jo Cox, as well as the defection from the Leave to the Remain camps by leading politician Baroness Warsi appeared to be reinforcing growing discomfort among business leaders of the UK leaving the market bloc is has been a member of since 1973.
London''s FTSE100 closed up 3.04%, or 182 points, at 6,204. Meanwhile, the FTSE AIM 100 Index gained a more modest 1.7% to 3,417 and the wider small-cap FTSE AIM All-Share Index made the lightest of gains of 1.1% to 722.
Some 46% of London stocks gained on Monday while 37% were unchanged. A minority of 17% lost.
One of the AIM market''s top performers was drug stock Verona Pharma Plc (LON:VRP) which gained 23% to 3.48p after raising 44.7mln to fund Phase 2 clinical trials for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis.
London''s top gainer, however, was Vast Resources, (LON:VAST) which rose by 34% to 0.22p, while Life Science (LON:LIFE) jumped by 31.25% to 2.63p.
Although a relative bystander on Monday, strong oil price gains helped support the advance. Brent crude gained 2.54% to $50.42, breaking a psychological level not seen for a week.
Afternoon snapshot 2:00pm
By early afternoon the FTSE 100 marked a 200 point, over 3%, rally as equities were boosted by an apparent change in sentiments in the build up to Thursday''s ''Brexit'' vote.
At 6,211 London''s blue-chip benchmark was up 3.16%.
Ahead of the Wall Street open America''s main equity indices all pointed higher.
Dow Jones futures indicated a 217 point improvement, while S & P 500 futures suggested a 26.5 point rise to 2,085 and the Nasdaq futures were up 56 points to 4,416.
Brent Crude Oil prices meanwhile bounced back above US$50, while WTI futures were 1.9% higher at around US$49 per barrel.
Gold was 0.77% lower on Monday, at US$1,282 for an ounce.
Morning market report, 9:45am
London''s stocks hockey-cokeyed higher on Monday morning as the ''ins'' apparently began to outnumber the ''outs'' ahead of Britain''s European Union referendum which will be underway in four days.
The FTSE 100 rallied around 140 points, 2.3%, at 9:00am as equities continued to be shaken all about by the possibility of a so called ''brexit''.
As the vote approaches the chances of a British exit from the European Union is looking less likely, than it did last week anyway.
Last week the Leave campaign had led the polls, but momentum has apparently shifted back to Remain.
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed a 1 percentage point lead for those wanting to stay in the European Union, similarly surveys carried out on behalf of the Independent and Mail on Sunday also favoured the Remain campaign.
This morning Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a Conservative parliamentarian who had reportedly backed the Leave campaign, switched her support to Remain amid concerns about ''hate and xenophobia'' in some elements of exit campaigning.
Elsewhere, Sir Richard Branson and Premier League boss Richard Scudamore are among a number of business leaders speaking out to support the Remain campaign.
With a warning, Branson described a possible Brexit as ''devastating'' for the UK''s long-term prosperity. And Scudamore said the league of England''s top 20 football clubs wanted Britain to stay in Europe.
Banking and financial stocks got the biggest boost on the London Stock Exchange.
Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (LON:RBS) was in top spot, rising 15.6p or 7.02% to 237.70p.
Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LON:LLOY) was up 5.6% at 68.67p, and Barclays Plc (LON:BARC) climbed 4.8% to 173.75p.
Stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown Plc (LON:HL.) shot up 6.35% to 1,307p.
Housebuilders also rallied strongly, with Barratt Developments Plc (LON:BDEV), Taylor Wimpey Plc (LON:TW.) and Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (LON:BKG) all adding more than 5%.
In fact, only two stocks in London''s top 100 were trading lower. Both Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) and Mexican silver miner Fresnillo (LON:FRES) saw negative territory as the precious metal miners, typically associated with ''safe haven'' commodities, had reduced appeal.
Elsewhere, trading patterns were less arbitrary.
North Sea oil firm EnQuest (LON:ENQ) jumped 13% higher to 32.5p after a rebuttal to the Telegraph which cited the company as an example in an article about the Oil & Gas Authority''s contingency planning for oil company bankruptcies.
EnQuest in a stock market statement on Monday acknowledged that it ''routinely engages'' with the UK''s oil regulator, as well as both the Scottish and UK governments, but was ''not involved in any company-specific discussions such as were implied by the article.''
Negative allergy drug trial results left investors more than red faced, as shares in Circassia Pharmaceuticals Plc (LON:CIR) plummeted 64% lower, to 95.55p from 270.3p.
A Phase 3 trial for a cat allergy drug failed to meet its primary endpoint. A ''powerful placebo response'' prevented the company from identifying a treatment effect, the company said.
On AIM, meanwhile, another drug stock was one of Monday''s top performers - Verona Pharma Plc (LON:VRP) gained 23% after raising 44.7mln to fund Phase 2 clinical trials for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis.
Open snapshot at 8:15am
The FTSE 100 rose 2% to 6,144, up 123 points.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (LON:RBS) was the biggest winner, up almost 6% or 13p to 235p.
The biggest loser was Randgold Resources Ltd (LON:RRS) down almost 2% or 155p, to 6,495p.
Preview at 6.55am
The FTSE 100 looks set open strongly with the opinion polls suggesting the ''remain campaign'' has a narrow lead ahead of the crucial vote on Thursday.
The spread betting firms are predicting the index of blue chip shares will add 175 points taking it to 6,196.09.
''The ''remain'' camp has polled wellwith David Cameron finally showing some heart in the live BBC debate at least according to some,'' said Chris Weston, analyst at IG.
''Nigel Farage''s ''bursting point'' poster concerning the refugee crisis looks as though it has backfired with many seeing the horrific humanitarian side of the issue.''
Asia''s main markets have reacted positively to the latest poll data with the odds of the UK leaving the EU now slashed to just 30%.
The Nikkei, buoyed also by a retreat in the value of the yen, advanced 2.4%, while Hong Kong''s Hang Seng was up 1.2% and the ASX advanced 1.5%.
Back here in Blighty the big scheduled corporate news of the week comes on Thursday too from Tesco, which delivers an update on trading.
It is a chance to for the investing public to assess whether boss Dave Lewis has managed to steer the super tanker away from the rocks.
The latest industry data suggests his reforms are having some impact on Tesco''s top line.
In what looks like a busy week, there''s news also from Whitbread, Debenhams and Photo-Me.
*Brent crude 46 cents higher at US$49.63 a barrel.
*Gold US$4.90 lower at US$1,287.60 per ounce.
*Rumour: Two of Abu Dhabi''s largest banks, State-owned National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, have said they are in talks to merge, potentially sparking further rationalisation in the United Arab Emirates as the oil-rich region weathers the oil price slump FT.
City Headlines
*Officials in Frankfurt are looking at plans to seize trading in hundreds of billions'' worth of euros processed in London should the UK vote to leave the European Union Times.
*A Chinese state-backed group has formed a joint venture with Ingenious Media, which has invested in movies such as Avatar and Life of Pi, to co-produce independent films in a deal worth $200 million FT.
*Several of Britain''s biggest newspaper groups are in talks aimed at finding ways of working more closely in a bold move by the traditionally fierce rivals to combat a brutal decline in print advertising revenues FT.