Syngenta Rejects Monsanto Takeover Offer as U.K. Shares Lead European Rally

U.K. stocks rallied Friday as investors cheered a surprise victory by Prime Minister David Cameron’s pro-business Conservative Party, with energy company Centrica and financials including Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland among the morning’s top gainers. In Zurich, Syngenta soared after rejecting a 41.7 billion Swiss franc ($45 billion) takeover offer from Monsanto Co., citing “significant” execution risks. And in Helsinki, Nokia rose following a New York Times report that it had received a bid for up to $3 billion for its Here mapping service from San Francisco-based ride-sharing company Uber. Here, which has also reportedly attracted interest from a consortium of German carmakers and Chinese technology company Baidu, is the main rival of Google Maps.