European stocks extend gains

Europe's main stock markets and the pound rose further on Tuesday, with traders expecting Britain to vote to stay in the European Union despite polls putting the race neck and neck.

"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) appears markets have made up their mind which way the referendum will go," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at traders CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX.L - news) .

"But before the result is known, there is still two-way risk" ahead of Thursday's landmark vote.

Investors were looking ahead also to US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen's Congressional testimony.

Yellen is scheduled to speak on monetary policy from Tuesday in a semiannual report to lawmakers, as markets try to gauge when the Fed will lift US interest rates again.

Around 1045 GMT, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 percent compared with the close on Monday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index grew 0.5 percent and the CAC 40 in Paris won 0.7 percent, as data showed investor confidence in Europe's biggest economy Germany hit a nine-month high.

The investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute jumped by 12.8 points to 19.2 points in June, its highest level since September 2015, the think tank said in a statement.

"The improvement of economic sentiment indicates that the financial market experts have confidence in the resilience of the German economy," said ZEW president Achim Wambach.

"However, general economic conditions remain challenging. Apart from the weak global economic dynamics, it is mainly the EU referendum in Great Britain which causes uncertainty," Wambach added.

World stock markets had surged Monday, with Europe's leading indices advancing between 3.0 and 3.5 percent, on growing expectations that Britain would Thursday vote to remain part of the EU.

Britain's pound made also more modest gains after soaring against the dollar on Monday.

Sterling nevertheless still hit a seven-week high at $1.4768, while the euro struck a three-week low at 76.79 pence.

The findings of polls published Tuesday showed the referendum could still go either way.

Billionaire George Soros, who famously profited by betting against the pound in a 1992 currency crisis, meanwhile predicted a plunge in sterling should Britain vote to leave the 28-nation bloc.

Asian stock markets mostly rose again Tuesday, playing catch up with Europe's strong gains the day before and following advances on Wall Street.

The gains were a reversal from last week, when polls showing an advantage for the "Leave" camp sparked big declines.

"It's about the momentum shift, the reversal of the momentum of the 'Leave' camp in the Brexit debate shifting to the 'Remain' camp," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.

- Key figures around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 6,209.91

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 10,010.65

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 4,373.02

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 2,967.98

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 16,169.11 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,878.56 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 20,668.44 (close)

New York - DOW: UP 0.7 percent at 17,804.87 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1332 from $1.1311 late Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4742 from $1.4675

Dollar/yen: UP at 104.61 yen from 103.93 yen