By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stocks rose for a third straight day and bond yields hovered near record lows as investors expected additional stimulus measures from central banks in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union and as the Bank of England raised the prospect of bond buying this summer.
Renewed concerns over global growth and oversupply forced oil prices down again as both Brent and U.S. crude traded below $50 per barrel. Gold, a safe-haven play in times of uncertainty, edged higher and was on track for its biggest monthly rise since February.
Sterling reversed its gains as Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain's economy. Investors largely expect the bank to cut interest rates over the summer and ramp up its bond-buying program. UK shares surged after the news.
The European Central Bank is looking at loosening its rules for bond purchases to allow it to by a wider range of debt if it moves toward returning to quantitative easing, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. The euro fell against the dollar and European stocks surged.
"There may be more of a growth crisis than any acute financial stress" from Brexit, said Stanley Sun, interest rate strategist at Nomura Securities International in New York.
Markets have regained their poise after a short bout of volatility following last week's so-called Brexit vote, but concerns remain about the longer-term global economic outlook and the potential for renewed turbulence.
The rebound in equities was not enough, however, to completely offset losses suffered in recent days. Stocks worldwide are down 0.8 percent for the month and on track for their worst monthly performance since February.
Wall Street rose as the benchmark S&P 500 index (SPX) gained 1 percent, although the drop in oil prices suppressed gains as the index approached all-time highs. (N)
The MSCI All-Country World index (MIWD00000PUS) was up 1.1 percent, but is set to end the month about 0.9 percent lower, its worst month since February. Still, it ended the quarter with a slight gain, rising 0.3 percent.
U.S. Treasuries have been drawing demand as bond yields in other developed markets fall into negative territory. Yields of benchmark 10-year Treasury notes (US10YT=RR) edged higher to 1.48 percent, up less than 1 basis point from late on Wednesday.
That compared with a yield on 10-year German government bonds of -0.127 percent (DE10YT=RR). British 10-, 20- and 30-year government bond yields all struck record lows.
UK BLUE CHIPS RECOVER
The UK's FTSE 100 (FTSE) surged 2.3 percent and has gained nearly 3 percent since Britain voted last week to leave the EU. (L)
In currency trading, sterling
The euro, which lost ground in the days after the Brexit vote, lost 0.2 percent to $1.1103.
Brent crude (LCOc1) settled at $49.68 a barrel, down 93 cents, after jumping more than 4 percent overnight, thanks to a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude (CLc1) settled at $48.33, down $1.55. [O/R]