Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Friday, as sentiment improved after the Conservative Party won the U.K. general elections on Thursday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.54%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.60%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.52%.
U.K. stocks led European markets higher after the Conservatives won more than half the seats in the Parliament on Thursday, outnumbering Labour and allowing David Cameron to end a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and govern alone.
Markets shrugged off data published earlier Friday showing that German industrial production fell 0.5% in March, confounding expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an uptick of 0.2% the previous month.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) dipped 0.07% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.85% in France, while Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) jumped 1.13% and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slipped 0.10% in Germany.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) eased up 0.07% and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) fell 0.12% in Italy, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) rose 0.20% and 0.43% respectively.
Elsewhere, Syngenta AG (SIX:SYNN) surged 15.45% after the Swiss maker of agrochemicals said it rejected a $45 billion bid from Monsanto Co., saying it was too low.
Nokia Oyj (HEL:NOK1V) saw shares rally 3.49% after the New York Times reported that Uber Technologies Inc. submitted a bid for its maps business.
In London, FTSE 100 jumped 1.56%, boosted by sharp gains in the financial sector.
Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) climbed 0.68% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) surged 3.86%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) soared 5.36% and 6.24% respectively.
Centrica (LONDON:CNA) added to gains, with shares up 6.70% after the utility company said it granted Chief Executive Officer Iain Conn share awards worth £2.4 million.
The awards were said to have been approved at last week's annual general meeting, despite 34% of shareholders refusing to back the group's pay plans.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were also mostly higher. Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) edged up 0.06% and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) saw shares jump 1.14%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) rallied 1.42%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.25% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.23% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.38% increase.