European stocks close lower as investors weigh UK election results

Labour leader Keir Starmer campaigns ahead of the 2024 general election in Redditch, England, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

London European stocks closed lower on Friday as investors took in news of Labour's landslide victory in Britain's election.

Britain's FTSE 100 index closed down 0.45%, while Europe's broader Stoxx 600 index ended the week down 0.22%.

The biggest focus for investors on Friday was the British general election results, in which the opposition Labour Party won a majority in parliament, defeating the ruling Conservative Party for the first time in 14 years.

The FTSE 350 Homebuilding and Housebuilding index closed 2.5% higher on Friday as traders reacted to news of Labour's victory.

Looking at individual stocks within the sector, Vistry Group, Barratt Developments and Persimmon were up around 3%, while Taylor Wimpey was up more than 2%.

Labour passed the threshold needed to rule alone early on Friday morning, with outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceding defeat. Keir Starmer, the leader of the centre-left Labour Party, is now Britain’s new Prime Minister. Analysts expect Labour’s victory to boost the UK market over time, particularly when it comes to housebuilding.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a research note on Friday that if Labour's election pledges turn into policy, it could usher in a “new era” for British housebuilding.

“While the potential of homebuilders has been constrained in recent years, this potential is likely to be unleashed in the coming years,” they wrote.

“If the new administration's actions are consistent with its rhetoric, we expect to see a reevaluation of the sector's valuations, and in the short term, we expect the rhetoric alone to drive up stock prices,” they added.

Corporate News

In corporate news, French bank BNP Paribas and Swiss bank UBS have expressed interest in acquiring HSBC's German wealth management business, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

HSBC shares fell about 2.5% on Friday.

Markets across the Asia Pacific region were broadly lower on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 recovering gains after breaking through 41,000 to hit a new all-time high.

In the US, the S&P 500 is expected to post another week of gains, hitting a new all-time high on Friday.

The U.S. economy added 206,000 jobs in June, slightly above the 200,000 Dow Jones forecast but below the 218,000 payrolls increase in May, according to labor data released Friday morning. The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in June, slightly above expectations that it would remain at 4%.

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