By Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer at DoubleLine Capital, said Friday his firm sold all of its European equities position before the market closed Thursday, following a strong rally in global stocks.
Gundlach, who oversees $100 billion at Los Angeles-based DoubleLine, said the firm bought beaten-down European stocks a week ago and exited its position late Thursday because "basically I thought it was free money when I bought them and we sold into the huge rally Thursday."
MSCI's 46-country All World index recorded a week of gains and climbed 1.36 percent Thursday to hit its highest in two weeks. But world stocks saw more than $2 trillion wiped off their value on Friday as Britain's vote to leave the European Union triggered 5-10 percent falls across Europe's biggest bourses and a record plunge for sterling.
Gundlach said about the Brexit vote: "Yes, I am surprised. It suggests the public mood for change is even greater than I thought."