London midday: Stocks power ahead as market cheers surprise Tory election win

London stocks posted healthy gains on Friday as investors welcomed news that Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party is on track for a second term in power.

The FTSE 100 was up 1.7% at 7,004.23 by midday, with banks, utility stocks and housebuilders pacing the advance.

Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays jumped ahead. Labour had threatened to break up the banks and potentially hit them with a one-off bonus tax and a higher bank levy. Shares in utilities Centrica and SSE also rose sharply as the threat of an energy price cap by Labour dissipated.

Housebuilders also enjoyed a solid performance, with Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey all higher as the threat of Labour’s mansion tax subsided.

The Conservatives look set to win 331 seats in Parliament out of a possible 650, which would give the party a working majority.

The Tories’ victory means investors have avoided the complications of a hung parliament – the outcome recent opinion polls suggested was most likely – which could have resulted in weeks of political uncertainty as either party grappled to form a coalition.

“I think this is the result the markets were hoping for as it offers the stability of a single party rule and is seen as the most business friendly outcome,” said Craig Erlam at Oanda. “Moreover, it offers continuity in a country that grew faster than the rest of the G7 last year and is expected to record strong growth again this year, second only to the US,” he added.

On the economic agenda, market participants are likely to keep an eye out for US nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate later in the day.

“A strong jobs report today, with at least 250,000 jobs being created in April, would support the view of the Fed and therefore a rate hike this year, possibly in September,” said Erlam. “Another poor number may point to a hangover from the first quarter performance which could push back rate hike expectations to late this year or early next. “

InterContinental Hotels Group gained as it said first-quarter revenues per available room, the key metric for the industry, were up 5.9% in comparable terms.

Shares in British engineering firm Rolls Royce were also o the front foot, edging higher as the company maintained its full-year guidance for 2015 on Friday, although it warned that revenue could take a £350m hit as a result of unfavourable currency rates.

BG Group said on Friday that its core earnings fell a staggering 41% in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, weighed by depressed oil and gas prices.

Shares in Man Group reversed earlier gains as investors digested the company’s first-quarter results, which showed a 7% increase in funds under management.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,256.42 +1.89%
FTSE 100 7,013.76 +1.84%
FTSE 250 17,964.34 +2.96%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Centrica (CNA) 276.10p +7.26%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 87.20p +6.17%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,047.00p +5.76%
Capita (CPI) 1,224.00p +5.52%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 541.00p +5.46%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 349.70p +5.30%
SSE (SSE) 1,641.00p +4.92%
St James's Place (STJ) 940.00p +4.74%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 654.50p +4.72%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 173.80p +4.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 1,301.00p -0.61%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Ladbrokes (LAD) 115.80p +9.66%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,716.00p +9.03%
Countrywide (CWD) 578.00p +8.44%
Laird (LRD) 386.90p +8.31%
Serco Group (SRP) 139.00p +7.42%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 230.60p +7.16%
Hays (HAS) 163.10p +6.88%
Savills (SVS) 890.00p +6.84%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 448.00p +6.67%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,710.00p +6.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Just Eat (JE.) 479.20p -3.41%
Man Group (EMG) 174.80p -2.35%
Pace (PIC) 409.40p -1.11%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 336.00p -0.18%
Lonmin (LMI) 143.30p -0.14%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 188.90p -0.05%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers
Sepura (SEPU) 150.50p +3.79%
Skyepharma (SKP) 276.00p +3.08%
RM (RM.) 146.25p +2.99%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,529.00p +2.96%
CML Microsystems (CML) 357.50p +2.88%
Ricardo (RCDO) 865.00p +2.73%
Consort Medical (CSRT) 915.00p +2.18%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 12.00p +2.13%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 92.75p +1.92%
Innovation Group (TIG) 28.75p +1.77%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,045.00p -0.48%
E2V Technologies (E2V) 226.00p -0.22%