LONDON MARKETS: British Stocks Rise To Near 11-month High As Johnson Elected As Conservative Party Leader
July 23 2019 - 7:46AM
Dow Jones News
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
British stocks rose to nearly an 11-month high on Wednesday, as
the Conservative Party's election of Boris Johnson as prime
minister was set against a backdrop of global optimism for
stocks.
The U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 7,561.93. The FTSE 100's 52-week
high was 7,776.65, on Aug. 8, 2018.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 , which is more exposed to the British
economy, rose 0.5% to 19,738.70.
The British pound edged lower to $1,2458 vs. the dollar, but rose to 1.1143 euros.
Read: Boris Johnson announced as Britain's next prime minister
-- what happens next for markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brace-yourselves-for-britains-new-prime-minister---heres-how-markets-will-react-2019-07-22)
What's moving markets
To the surprise of few, Johnson won the Conservative party
leadership race handily over Jeremy Hunt.
Analysts at UBS say the market is pricing in nearly a 50% chance
of a no-deal Brexit, which the brokerage thinks is overstating
those risks. UBS point out Johnson faces barriers including the
party's lack of a majority in Parliament and that the party that is
not united. "So although a no-deal Brexit remains possible, we
believe the U.K. is more likely to ask for a further extension to
exit day, whether due to a change in stance from Mr. Johnson, or
due to a no-confidence vote followed by a general election."
Outside the U.K., the focus was on a debt-ceiling deal
tentatively reached in the U.S. and reports of progress on
U.S.-China trade talks.
Focus stocks
Shares of Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA.LN) rose 1.8% as the
company's former unit, Standard Life Assurance, agreed to pay a
GBP30.7 million fine over annuity sales. Phoenix Group (PHNX.LN) ,
its new owner, rose 0.3%.
Lloyd's syndicate member Beazley (BEZ.LN) shares rose 3.6% after
reporting a near tripling of pretax profits on 12% higher
premiums.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 23, 2019 07:31 ET (11:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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