Europe Stocks Rise With FTSE 100 as Oil Climbs on Inventory Data
European Stocks Rise With FTSE 100 Up Ahead of Brexit Trigger
(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose, while the FTSE 100 Index reversed an earlier drop, as energy shares tracked gains in crude prices.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent the close as oil extended gains after U.S. crude stockpiles rose less than forecast. The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.4 percent in the second day of gains. The British gauge of megacaps earlier fell as much as 0.4 percent as the U.K. invoked the formal mechanism to exit the European Union, before reversing the drop as the pound traded lower.
- Energy shares were among the best performers in the Stoxx 600, rising 1 percent after the EIA inventory report. Mining shares climbed 0.9 percent, tracking copper prices higher.
- Bets for turmoil in the FTSE 100 are near their highest level since early December versus expectations for currency volatility. The U.K. benchmark is still below its pre-Brexit vote level when viewed in dollar terms.
- “We’re in for a long period of volatility for the pound and U.K. assets,” Neil Wilson, a market analyst at ETX Capital, wrote in a note. “Details are everything now.”
- The Stoxx 600 has advanced 2.2 percent this month, poised for its biggest March advance since 2010.
--With assistance from Aleksandra Gjorgievska and Elena Popina
To contact the reporter on this story: Namitha Jagadeesh in London at njagadeesh@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Todd White, Richard Richtmyer