* Risk appetite picks up a little
* "Remain" leads before UK referendum, bookmakers say
* Yellen hints at no rate hike in July
(Updates with early U.S. market activity, changes dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - Stocks and sterling rose while
safe-haven assets gold and bonds slipped on Wednesday, as
investors grew more optimistic Britain would vote to remain in
the European Union in its referendum on Thursday.
Riskier markets also drew support from Federal Reserve Chair
Janet Yellen's comments on the U.S. economy on Tuesday, when she
virtually ruled out a July interest rate hike.
Wall Street stocks gained 1 percent so far this week
although the mood was cautious, with the potential for new
opinion polls to swing markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 20.48 points,
or 0.11 percent, to 17,850.21, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.04
points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,093.94 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 19.69 points, or 0.41 percent, to 4,863.46.
The MSCI's all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS
rose 0.6 percent for a 2.6-percent gain so far this week.
Betting patterns with bookmakers have shown a re-opening of
the gap in favor of "Remain" after the murder last week of a
pro-EU lawmaker appeared to derail the "Leave" campaign.
Stock market gains were more pronounced in Europe. Europe's
FTSEuroFirst index of 300 leading shares was up 0.8 percent
.FTEU3 , Germany's DAX was up 1.1 percent .GDAXI , France's
CAC 40 .CAC40 up 0.9 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 up 1.1
percent .FTSE .
Sterling rose around 0.4 percent against the dollar,
climbing above $1.47 GBP= and edging back towards Tuesday's
$1.4781. The pound has risen 5 percent since dropping to a
three-month low of $1.4010 on Thursday.
"Part of it is gradually more and more the risk from Brexit
being removed, something that started last week when we saw the
polls changing around," said Charles St-Arnaud, senior
strategist and economist at Nomura Securities International in
London.
The dollar slipped 0.1 percent against the yen JPY= to
104.66 yen, and the euro rose 0.6 percent to $1.1306 EUR= .
For the latest Reuters news on the referendum including full
multimedia coverage, click
Fed chief Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the risk of Brexit
was something that needed watching "very carefully", but she
added that the central bank's ability to raise interest rates
this year may hinge on a rebound in hiring
Yellen continued her testimony in front of the U.S. House
Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, with investors
listening for clues about the central bank's thinking on the
state of the economy and the timing of interest rate hikes.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. bond yields rose slightly to 1.71
percent US10YT=RR . Germany's 10-year yield edged up a basis
point to 0.06 percent EU10YT=RR .
As investors grew more hopeful of a "Remain" vote, spot gold
XAU= languished, falling 0.2 percent to a near-two-week low of
$1,265.60 an ounce.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 0.4 percent to $50.43 per
barrel. The new benchmark August contract for U.S. crude futures
CLc1 rose 0.2 percent to $49.77.
Reuters' new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets
reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets
Interactive Brexit graphic http://tmsnrt.rs/1Ke31HF
Asset performance in 2016 http://reut.rs/1WAiOSC
Currencies in 2016 http://link.reuters.com/tak27s
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