Traders gamble on Britain leaving the European Union, forcing stock markets and sterling to surge
Analysts said there could be further wild swings before Thursday’s referendum
TRADERS placed heavy bets on Britain leaving the European Union, forcing stock markets and sterling to surge yesterday.
The pound recorded its biggest one day gain in seven years and the FTSE 100 index of leading shares jumped by three per cent.
Receding fears of Brexit added £50 billion to the value of Britain’s biggest companies.
Analysts said there could be further wild swings before Thursday’s referendum as jittery global markets anticipate the outcome of the crucial vote.
A new YouGov poll for The Times yesterday showed Leave two points ahead of remain at 51 per cent to 49.
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But the small margin is unlikely to check the market surge after earlier surveys showed momentum swinging towards Remain following the murder of the pro-EU Labour MP Jo Cox.
Yesterday, the world’s most famous currency speculator warned a Brexit vote on Thursday would trigger a bigger and more damaging fall for sterling than the day he forced Britain out of the exchange rate mechanism almost 24 years ago.
George Soros said a vote to leave would result in a Black Friday for the UK, but the devaluation of sterling would bring none of the benefits to the economy that it enjoyed after Britain dropped out of the ERM in September 1992.
He said there would be big financial gains for people who had bet on the UK leaving the EU, but such an outcome would leave “most voters considerably poorer”.
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