The UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.4 percent on Tuesday, closing at 6,189.30 points, after dropping by as much as 0.8 percent earlier in the day.
Shares in the UK ended higher on a rebound in commodity stocks as the market appears to be more confident in the likelihood of the UK voting to remain in the EU on Thursday.
Support for Britain remaining in the UK has crept back up over the past week, according to two opinion polls on Monday which put ‘Remain’ slightly ahead of ‘Leave’. Opinion polls are surveys in which people in a sample population answer questions on a particular issue.
But it’s still a close call, as a third poll showed support for ‘Leave’ marginally ahead of ‘Remain’.
Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers, told Reuters:
“We have seen Brexit poll volatility, but much of the recent movement in the market looks like it is pricing in Remain.
“This would result in a more aggressive sell off if the Leave campaign wins.”
Royal Dutch Shell and BP both increased 0.9 percent – the biggest FTSE 100 gainers of the day.
US Stock Market edged higher
The S&P 500 rose 5.65 points, or 0.3%, to close at 2,088.90, led by gains in telecom and energy shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.86 points, or 0.1%, closing at 17,829.73, driven by a 2.2% gain by Microsoft Corp but dragged down by a 0.9% decline in Boeing Co stock.
The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 6.55 points, or 0.1%, closing at 4,843.76.
“The focus of attention this week is on the UK vote on Thursday. It looks like overnight the polls tightened up a little bit,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird, told CNBC. “It’s a pretty nervous market. Nobody has any profits for the year. The last thing you want to do is get caught in a downdraft.”
US crude oil futures for delivery in July fell by $0.52 or 1.05%, to settle at $48.85 a barrel.