(Reuters) – European stocks rose to more than one-week highs on Friday after the Labour Party’s return to power in the UK general election gave investors a sense of calm, while German chip systems manufacturer Aixtron rallied on reporting strong orders.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.4% by 0721 GMT, touching its highest level since June 26.
The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 added 0.3% and the domestically oriented FTSE 250 jumped 1% to one-month highs after the Labour Party surged to a landslide victory in a parliamentary election on Friday, ending 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative government.
European tech stocks topped sectoral performance on Friday with a 0.9% rise.
Aixtron rallied 15.5% to the top of STOXX 600 after the company reported a strong order intake in the second quarter.
Other chip firms including ASM International, BE Semiconductor and ASML Holding climbed 0.6%-1.1%, spurred by Samsung’s prediction of a 15-fold surge in second-quarter operating profit.
Varta jumped about 27% after the German battery maker said it is in talks with Porsche over a potential investment in its large-format lithium-ion battery business.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Jesus Calero in Gdansk; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
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