World equities rise, bond yields subdued as more stimulus seen

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stocks rose for a third day although bond yields remained subdued, reflecting concerns about the global economy and expectations for more stimulus from central banks, as the Bank of England raised the prospect of more bond buying.

Markets have regained their poise after a short bout of volatility following Britain's vote last week to leave the European Union, but concerns remain about the longer term economic outlook and the potential for renewed turbulence.

Sterling reversed early 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 programme. The news sent UK shares surging..

The equity rebound of the last three days was not enough, however, to completely offset losses suffered in recent days which have put global stocks on track for their worst monthly performance since January, down 1.6 percent for the month.

Renewed concerns over global growth and oversupply have also forced oil prices down again as both Brent and U.S. crude traded below $50 per barrel.

"The focus now shifts to reality and the performance of the global economy, which is not all that promising," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

Gold, a safe-haven play, edged lower but was on track for its biggest monthly rise since February after posting its biggest daily rise in more than seven years after Britain backed leaving the EU <=XAU>.

The two-day selloff in the aftermath of last week's vote had wiped more than $3 trillion off the value of global stocks. They have recovered about half of that over the past three sessions.

Wall Street rose and the S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent, although the drop in oil prices suppressed gains as the index approached all-time highs.

The MSCI All-Country World index was up 0.7 percent, but is set to end the month down about 1 percent, its worst month since a troubled start to the year. It will also be the first time since 2011 that global stocks will have fallen for two successive quarters.

Worries that a weaker Chinese yuan could spark deflation, seen as a key reason for the worst start to the year for global stocks, were reignited on Thursday after Reuters reported that China's central bank was willing to let the currency fall further.

U.S. Treasuries have been drawing demand as many bond yields in developed markets fall into negative territory. Yields of benchmark 10-year Treasury notes edged higher to 1.48 percent, up around 1 basis point from late on Wednesday.

That compares to a yield on 10-year German government bonds of -0.127 percent .

British 10-, 20- and 30-year government bond yields struck record lows.

UK BLUE CHIPS RECOVER

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, dominated by oil producers that pay out generous dividends and global healthcare and consumer stocks such as AstraZeneca and Unilever , rose 1.7 percent and has gained 2.1 percent since Britain voted to leave the EU.

Shares of UK and European banks <.SX7P> a centre of concern since Britain shocked global financial markets on Friday, have been the hardest-hit during the recent selloff and continued to underperform. The fell 0.7 percent on the day and are down nearly 18 percent over the last week.

Deutsche Bank fell 2.7 percent and hit another record low after the bank failed a U.S. stress test.

In currencies, sterling fell 0.7 percent to $1.3322, putting distance between a 31-year trough of $1.3122 touched on Monday. It has still lost more than 6 percent in the quarter.

The euro, another casualty in the days after Brexit, fell 0.3 percent to $1.1094.

Brent crude fell 0.9 percent to $50.18 a barrel after jumping more than 4 percent overnight, thanks to a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories.

(Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengeluru Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Nick Zieminski)