Stock futures sharply higher as Brexit fears subside

[June 20, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose sharply on Monday, tracking gains in European stocks, as polls over the weekend showed an increased possibility of Britain remaining in the European Union.

* Investors had remained confused over the fallout of Britain's vote on Thursday, leading them away from oil and equities last week to safe havens like the yen and gold.

* However, polls showed that the "Remain" campaign had gathered favor over the weekend causing a rebound in the British pound.

* Oil prices were on track to mark their largest two-day rise in a month as investor confidence in the risky asset rose and the strength of the dollar weakened. [O/R]

* Gold, which rallied over the past week, fell more than 1 percent, while the dollar was off 0.61 percent on Monday.

* Wall Street closed lower on Friday, weighed down by technology stocks. The three major indexes lost more than 1 percent each in the week after the Federal Reserve warned of an economic slowdown and investors fretted over a possible Brexit.

* Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at a symposium in Washington at 12:15 p.m. ET (1615 GMT).

* Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. ET.

* Apple was up 1 percent at $96.36 premarket on Monday. The tech giant's stock had fallen 2.2 percent on Friday after a dispute in China over a iPhone patent. * GlaxoSmithKline rose 4.3 percent to $42.07 after the company said a drug met a late-stage study goals.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 10, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were up 215 points, or 1.22 percent, with 30,253 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis  were up 27.75 points, or 1.35 percent, with 222,189 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis  were up 57 points, or 1.31 percent, on volume of 27,788 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)

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