UK election result sparks markets euphoria

European shares posted this year’s biggest advance, buoyed by a surprise election win for the British Conservative party and improving US jobs data.

In Dublin, the Iseq overall index rose by 2.3 per cent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 rebounded 2.3 per cent from a one-month low. US stocks also rose after a rebound in hiring last month bolstered optimism that economic growth is accelerating, but not fast enough to warrant higher interest rates in June.

DUBLIN

Datalex

, the travel technology company backed by

Dermot Desmond

, rose by 1.18 per cent to close at €1.72. At one stage in the morning it up 2.3 per cent, before falling back in the afternoon. A note from Goodbody stockbrokers yesterday said the company “stands out from the crowd in the travel retail space”.

CRH, the biggest Irish company by market capitalisation, surged ahead by almost 4 per cent on heavy trading volumes, closing at €25.93. Holcim investors backed a capital increase in a vote, paving the way for the Swiss cement maker's planned merger with France's Lafarge, which will result in the sale of €6.5 billion of assets to CRH.

Bank of Ireland shrugged off worries about possible Government-imposed mortgage rate price controls to gain 3.75 per cent.

LONDON

Sterling surged the most in three years against the euro and strengthened versus all but one of its 16 major peers as the surprise election result ended concern that drawn-out talks would be needed to form a government.

British lenders and utilities rallied after the defeat of Labour, which had pledged more levies on bank balance sheets and fixed prices in the household-energy industry.

Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland Group jumped at least 5.8 per cent, while Centrica and SSE rose more than 5.3 per cent.

Barratt Developments and Berkeley Group Holdings rose more than 7.1 per cent, pacing gains among UK homebuilders. Betting company Ladbrokes surged 9.9 per cent.

EUROPE

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 2.9 per cent to 400.16 at the close of trading, up 1.4 per cent for the week. German and Swiss stocks were among the best performers in western-European markets. The Dax climbed 2.7 per cent, completing its best week in a month.

Syngenta surged 19 per cent after the agrochemicals maker rejected an offer of 41.7 billion Swiss francs by Monsanto, saying it was too low.

A transaction would eclipse Walgreen's $24 billion takeover of Alliance Boots last year as the largest US-to-Europe acquisition, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Nokia gained 4.1 per cent after taxi service Uber submitted a $3 billion bid for the Finnish firm's map business HERE, the New York Times reported.

NEW YORK

Marietta Materials

climbed 2.9 per cent in the afternoon to a more than seven-year high. The producer of ingredients for concrete led the S&P raw-materials group to a two-month high after construction companies last month added the most workers since January 2014.

Healthcare companies in the S&P 500 advanced 1.8 per cent, the most in almost two months. Biogen added 4 per cent after saying it would buy back $5 billion in stock.

Airlines rallied for a third day as Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines increased at least 1.8 per cent. Among consumer shares, travel-related companies paced the rally. Cruise lines Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival climbed more than 3.5 per cent, the most in more than a month.

AOL soared 11 per cent, the most in 16 months, after quarterly profits beat analysts’ estimates as the owner of the Huffington Post and other websites increased global advertising revenue. Monster Beverage fell 8.6 per cent, the biggest drop in two years, as first-quarter profit and sales trailed estimates. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg/Reuters