Investors pull €32bn from Europe’s shares as UK vote looms

European equities are trailing US shares this year in performance and valuation while seeing outflows of $36bn (€31.7bn) and rising volatility as investors slash exposure to the region, spooked by the vote on UK membership of the EU.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index is on track to record its biggest first-half under-performance against the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 2013.

The index is down 5.8% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 is up 3.3%.