Europe: Stocks rebound at open

[LONDON] European stock markets rebounded at the start of trading on Wednesday, after heavy losses in recent sessions caused largely by the prospect of Britain voting to leave the European Union.

Markets are volatile also on uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy as the Federal Reserve looks set to postpone hiking US interest rates.

At the open, London's FTSE 100 index rose 0.6 per cent to 5,957.21 points compared with Tuesday's close.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index climbed 0.7 per cent to 9,589.47 points and the Paris CAC 40 jumped 1.0 per cent in value to 4,172.73.

Asian stocks also rebounded on Wednesday after a global sell-off that saw London slump 2.0 per cent Tuesday on Brexit fears.

Investors from the Americas to Asia have been piling into safe haven investments such as the yen, gold and bonds over the past week as a succession of opinion polls put Britain's "Leave" camp in front ahead of the EU referendum on June 23.

However the latest poll, by ComRes, showed support for remaining at 46 per cent and the pro-Brexit side on 45 per cent.

This contrasts with a result from the same pollster just one month earlier in which the pro-remain side had an 11 point lead.

AFP