Utility companies, housebuilders, banks, and the pound look like election winners.Footsie is up almost two percent so far this morning as the UK election looks like it will deliver a more decisive result than expected. 

The receding chance of an energy price cap, promised by the Labour party, has put the wind in the sails of utility companies, which rose by 4 percent in early trading, with Centrica rising by 7 percent and SSE rising by 5 percent. Likewise the housebuilders also feature highly in the winners’ list, with Persimmon, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey all rising by over 4 percent, now the mansion tax looks to be out of the picture. Financials also saw gains with Lloyds rising 6 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland rising 5 percent.

While no party claims to be a friend of the bankers, the market perceives the Conservatives to be less unfriendly than Labour. Outsourcers also did well with Babcock rising by 8 percent and Capita rising by 5 percent. These are companies whose major customer is the government, and who the market deems will benefit from a government which is less likely to take big projects in-house within the public sector. On the currency markets the pound has soared. Sterling has risen 3 percent against the euro over the past 24-hours to stand at 1.3805 euros per pound. It has risen 1.69 percent over 24 hour against the dollar to stand at 1.5455 dollars per pound.

Laith Khalaf, Senior Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:‘The stock market has reacted positively to a more decisive election result than was expected. Meanwhile the pound has soared as the currency market welcomed the certainty of the result, and the economic continuity provided by a likely Conservative administration.We know that investors have been reluctant to act in recent months because of the uncertainty caused by the election. Now the election cloud has passed, investors can get on with business as usual.’