European Markets Buoyed as Theresa May Seen Set to Become U.K. Prime Minister
European markets were up in midday trading after the shock withdrawal of Andrea Leadsom from the Conservative Party leadership race just after noon today.
This paves the way for Home Secretary Theresa May to become the next prime minister of the U.K. This comes after little more than two weeks after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, which resulted in Prime Minister David Cameron announcing his resignation.
The timing of the succession is not yet known, but could be by the end of the day.
In London, the FTSE 100 was recently up 0.88% at 6,648.76. The more domestic focused FTSE 250 spiked on the news was recently 2.60% up at 16,599.45.
At quarter past noon today, Leadsom announced her retreat from the leadership race, meaning that May should become leader of the party and therefore prime minister.
Leadsom said that a nine-week leadership battle at such a critical point for the country would be "highly undesirable" and that May would be best placed to run the country.
"Business needs certainty - a strong and unified government must move quickly to set out what an independent United Kingdom's framework for business looks like," she said. "The interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well-supported prime minister."
Over the weekend Leadsom came under fire after for saying that having children would make her a better prime minister than her running mate. She had also faced questions about her working experience.
On the other side of the bench, the Labour Party leadership is also under fire after Angela Eagle made a formal bid to become leader, after Jeremy Corbyn lost the backing of many members of his cabinet.
Home builders and property developers were once again top of the FTSE 100. Taylor Wimpey (TWODY) was recently up well over 8%, Barratt Developments (BTDPY) was up 7.6% and Persimmon was up 7.4%.
In Frankfurt, the Dax had recently gained 1.54% and was at 9,777.53 and the Cac 40 in Paris was 1.35% up at 4,247.64.
Thyssenkrupp (TKAMY) was the biggest mover on the Dax in midday trading. It was up over 5% after reports said that it would go after Tata Steel's European steel operations.
Dow Jones mini futures were recently up 0.38% and S&P mini futures were up 0.33%.