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London - European stocks advanced, paring a third weekly decline, as concern abated that Britain will exit the European Union.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.2% at 09:12. Campaigns on whether UK should leave or stay in the EU were suspended for a second day after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox, who backed ‘Remain,’ was murdered while she met constituents in her electoral districts. Europe’s benchmark halved its losses in the final hour of trading yesterday.
All 19 industry groups climbed, with stocks that took the worst hit earlier this week leading gains. Lenders rallied the most, buoyed by those in Italy. Randgold Resources, which had benefited from investor demand for gold as a haven in the past two days, declined 4.5%.
Polls indicating a lead for the UK’s ‘Leave’ campaign weighed on stocks this week, dragging the Stoxx 600 lower in six of the past seven sessions. Exacerbating worries over a potential Brexit were deepening declines in oil and concerns over economic growth and central-bank support after those in Japan and the US kept their policies unchanged.
European stocks have struggled to maintain momentum after rallying as much as 16% from a February low to an April 20 high. The Stoxx 600 has dropped 2.4% this week, and is still down 11% for the year.
Among shares active on corporate news, Ericsson lost 1.5% after saying it received a request from US authorities in 2013 to answer questions relating to its operations. A report earlier said the company is being investigated on suspicion of corruption.
