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The British Pound outperformed in overnight trade, rising against all of its major counterparts after a series of opinion polls showed respondents were leaning against so-called “Brexit” in the looming UK EU membership referendum. The anti-risk Japanese Yen slumped while the sentient-linked Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Dollars traded higher as the prospect of maintaining the status quo after the momentous vote lifted investors’ spirits.S&P 500 futures are pointing firmly higher, hinting the risk-on mood may carry forward. Assuming as much seems dangerous however. Sentiment has been fickle in the run-up referendum and may swiftly change direction as voting begins and early indications begin to cross the wires. Even a seemingly trivial headline that hints the Leave campaign may be pulling ahead could swiftly sour the markets’ mood.The preliminary set of June’s Eurozone PMI figures headlines the economic calendar in European hours. The region-wide composite measure is expected to show the pace of manufacturing- and service-sector activity growth modestly slowed, although median forecasts envision a print broadly in line with the medium-term trend.The results are likely to pass mostly unnoticed. If UK voters opt for “Brexit”, the Euro looks decidedlyvulnerable to aggressive volatility. If “Bremain” wins the day, the ECB is likely to remain in wait-and-see mode as it continues to implement stimulus measures announced earlier in the year. In this scenario, near-term activity data seems largely moot.
