Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, campaigns ahead of the general election, in Redditch, UK, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks opened mostly higher on Friday as the U.K.’s general election draws focus in the region.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3% higher in early morning deals. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index climbed more than 0.2% as investors reacted to election results.
Travel and leisure stocks were the standout gainers Friday, climbing 0.6%, as most sectors traded in positive territory. Chemicals stocks were among the few losers among sectors, down 0.1%
The primary news story on investors’ minds Friday was the results of the U.K.’s general election, with the opposition Labour Party on course to win a huge parliamentary majority in the country’s general election, unseating the incumbent Conservatives after 14 years.
Early on Friday morning, Labour passed the threshold needed to govern alone as outgoing PM Rishi Sunak conceded defeat. Keir Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour, will become the country’s next prime minister and declared victory in the early hours.
In corporate news, French bank BNP Paribas and Swiss lender UBS are reportedly expressing interest in buying HSBC’s German wealth-management unit, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
In Asia-Pacific, markets were largely lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 paring gains after crossing the 41,000 mark and hitting fresh record highs.
Stateside, S&P 500 futures were trading relatively flat Friday as investors geared up for the release of a closely watched jobs report.