Labour's landslide win: What does it mean for the pound and UK stocks?
13.07.2024 - 14:31
/ euronews.com
/ Charles
In a seismic shift for the UK's political landscape, the Labour Party has secured a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, winning 410 seats and marking a significant increase of 212 seats from the 2019 elections.
After being invited to form a government by the UK's Head of State, King Charles, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer will head to 10 Downing Street, ending the Conservatives' 14-year tenure.
The Conservative Party has experienced a dramatic loss, reducing their representation to just 119 seats, a decrease of 249 seats. The Liberal Democrats have made notable gains, securing 71 seats, an increase of 63 from the previous election.
This result gives Labour a comfortable margin above the 326-seat majority threshold, enabling them to pass legislation needed to implement their political manifesto.
Financial markets had largely anticipated Labour's decisive victory, and initial reactions were relatively subdued.
The British pound rose only by 0.1% to 1.2770 against the dollar at 09:30 CET on Friday, but still continuing its six-day upward trend. The euro remained nearly unchanged against the pound at 0.8472.
Gilt yields saw a slight decline, with the two-year yield at 4.15%, marking its sixth day of easing in the last seven sessions. Long-dated 10-year gilt yields also fell by two basis points to 4.18%, although they have risen from their June low of 4%.
The FTSE 100 index opened 0.4% higher, with small caps leading gains. Persimmon, Barratt Developments, and Taylor Wimpey rose 3.1%, 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.
The positive sentiment in the UK equity market extended to broader European markets.
The Euro STOXX 50 index rose by 0.5%. In France, stocks were 0.4% higher ahead of Sunday's second-round legislative election. In Germany, the DAX index was 0.6% higher. Tyre producer Continental surged by more than 2% following a recommendation upgrade from JPMorgan.
James Smith, UK economist, ING Group:
"The new government faces enormous financial and fiscal challenges. Elevated gilt yields reflect the fact that public debt is within spitting distance of 100%, and the deficit is at 4.4%."
Smith added that the Labour Party "will inevitably need to go beyond what it promised during the campaign" and has made clear its intent to avoid further austerity.
Smith suggested that the new government might find it easier to secure extra cash in its first budget than many expect. "Small edits to the fiscal rules and several tweaks to minor taxes and associated reliefs could deliver the money needed to end planned cuts to spending."
Britain's first-ever female Chancellor of the Exchequer (chief finance minister), Rachel Reeves, is expected to take office. The lack of drastic changes to public finances means the Bank of