http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-18/pound-jumps-as-poll-shows-no-in-front-u-s-futures-climb.html
U.K. shares helped lead European equities to a 6 1/2-year high and the pound strengthened against most major peers as Spanish bonds surged after Scotland rejected independence. U.S. stock-index futures rose, while commodities fell to a five-year low.
The pound traded at the strongest level in two years against the euro at 11:49 a.m. in London. The FTSE 100 Index added 0.7 percent, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 percent. Spanish 10-year yields tumbled seven basis points to 2.21 percent, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.2 percent, as wheat declined to a four-year low.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond conceded defeat after the anti-independence “No” camp garnered 55 percent of the votes. The result may ease pressure on Spain over calls for Catalonia to be given a similar choice. The S&P 500 climbed to a record yesterday as U.S. jobless data beat estimates a day after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep rates near zero for a considerable time after ending bond purchases. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised $21.8 billion selling shares in the biggest U.S. initial public offering.
“Now that the Scotland independence vote is out of the way, risk aversion in asset markets has subsided,” said Soeren Moerch, head of fixed-income trading at Danske Bank A/S. “People re-focus on fundamentals. The U.K. story is now back on growth and its first rate increase.”
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