Markets bank on Swedish 'No' vote
 |
A mourner places flowers outside the store where Lindh was stabbed.
Story Tools
RELATED
|
Sweden is in mourning following the stabbing death of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. CNN's Robyn Curnow reports
|
|
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Despite the murder of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, markets continue to predict a "No" vote in the country's forthcoming referendum on joining the euro.
The death of Lindh, 46, a passionate advocate of joining the single currency -- she was dubbed "Queen on the 'Yes' Campaign" -- has led to speculation that the pro-euro camp would receive a sudden surge of sympathy votes in Sunday's referendum.
That speculation appeared to be born out in survey of a sample 792 voters conducted Friday by market research group the Skop Institute, which showed the 'Yes' campaign tying 50-50 with the 'No' campaign.
Prior to Lindh's death the anti-euro camp had enjoyed a consistent lead in the polls.
"There is great potential for a sympathy vote that will turn this one," Bo Bjurulf, a politics professor at Sweden's Lund University, told Reuters.
"Obviously if it (Lindh's murder) was politically motivated, the sympathy vote would be stronger."
However, in another survey, also taken Friday, by Sifo Research and Consulting, results showed the "No" campaign actually widening its lead to 50, with 38 percent saying they would vote "Yes."
It is the latter poll that appears to have been more trusted by the financial markets -- its result caused the Swedish Crown to slip from a three-month high, ending the day at 9.095 euros.
"Investors have already priced in a 'No' with, say, 90 percent certainty," Mattias Isakson, a strategist with Handelsbanken Equity, told Reuters.
Lindh, one of Sweden's most popular politicians, was stabbed several times inside an upmarket Stockholm department store as she shopped Wednesday. She died early Thursday as a result of wounds to her abdomen.
She did not have a bodyguard with her at the time of the attack. Swedish politicians typically do not travel with bodyguards in their home country. (Full story)
