British stocks rise on hopes of Brexit in January

Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-14 03:47:24|Editor: huaxia
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LONDON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Friday as market expects the Conservative Party's landslide win in the general election will pave the way for Brexit in January to end the uncertainties.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index, comprised of multinationals, was up by 1.10 percent, or 79.97 points, to close at 7,353.44 points. The FTSE 250, with a more domestic focus, was up by 3.44 percent, or 714.76 points, to close at 21507.79 points. The FTSE 250 jumped by more than 5 percent at one point.

Best performers include housebuilding companies, banks and utilities. Taylor Wimpey, a residential developer, is the top gainer of the blue chips, soaring 14.68 percent, followed by Barratt Developments and another property developer Berkeley Group Holdings. Royal Bank of Scotland Group increased by 8.39 percent.

Polymetal International, a precious metals mining company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 3.24 percent. Fresnillo, a Mexican-based precious metals mining company, dropped 3.05 percent. Rolls-Royce Holdings, a UK-based engineering company, fell 2.56 percent.

Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson has led his party to win 365 out of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

Johnson has promised to "get Brexit done" and take the country out of the European Union (EU) on Jan. 31, 2020 to end the uncertainty that has clouded the economy since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

Struggling to deliver Brexit with a minority administration, Prime Minister Johnson called for the December snap election to break the political gridlock. Enditem

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