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FTSE 100 jumps as Conservatives set to form majority government

Xinhua, May 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

As Britain's Conservative Party is expected to win more than half of the 650 seats at the House of Commons, the FTSE 100 Index, British benchmark stock market gauge, and the British pound both jump at opening on Friday.

At 1000 GMT, the FTSE 100 index increased by 1.46 percent, or 100.69 points, to 6,987.64, in a sharp contrast to the 0.67 percent drop a day earlier, as investors were cautious on the election outcome.

The Pound soared significantly by 1.40 percent to 1.546 against U.S. dollars, in contrast with the flat performance a day earlier.

Vicky Redwood, Chief UK Economist at Capital Economics, commented in an analysis that "With the Conservatives on course to achieve an overall majority, the UK general election result is a surprisingly market-friendly outcome and removes the risk that the economy suffers a prolonged period of political uncertainty."

According to the results from individual constituencies that released at 1000 GMT, British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives have already secured 320 seats out of 635 seats. Fifteen more seats are expected to be declared afterward.

The BBC forecasts that the Conservatives is hopeful to win 329 seats, enough to form a "slender majority" in the Commons. Endi