The FTSE 100 (^FTSE2) dipped into the red at the close, dropping by 0.45%, while European stocks were mixed on Friday as voters in the UK general election delivered a devastating verdict on 14 years of Conservative rule. Labour won 41 seats to the incumbent Tory government's 121, with prime minister Rishi Sunak conceding defeat.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 (^FTMC) surged ahead on the back of the news in London, climbing as much as 1.8% to its highest level since April 2022. This is because it has more companies which do business in the UK compared to the FTSE 100.
Housebuilders were the main drivers of the gains, rising by 2.5% amid hopes that Labour will amend planning laws to kick start development.
Meanwhile, US stocks held near all-time highs on Friday as investors weighed the June jobs report, which will play into Federal Reserve rate cut calculations. The US economy added 206,000 jobs in June, more than the 190,000 expected on Wall Street.
London’s benchmark index ended the session low dropping by 0.45% .
Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.14% while CAC (^FCHI) in Paris dipped 0.26%.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was down 0.2%.
Wall Street held near record highs on Friday after the Independence Day holiday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped just below the flatline, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.3%.
The pound was 0.3% up against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.2780.
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