BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks edged higher on Friday
after the Labour Party secured a landslide victory in the U.K. election to end
14 years of Conservative rule, as widely expected.

Regarding Sunday's parliamentary elections in France, opinion polls show the
second-round run-off vote may lead to a hung parliament with no clear majority.

Optimism about a U.S. rate cut also underpinned sentiment ahead of key U.S. jobs
numbers, due later in the day.

Closer home, German industrial production declined unexpectedly in May, while
Eurozone's retail sales rose 0.3 percent year-on-year in May, after having
registered a 0.6 percent growth in April, separate set of data showed.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.4 percent to 519.59 after gaining 0.6 percent
on Thursday.

The German DAX jumped 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 added half a percent and the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent.

Roche Holding rose over 1 percent after receiving the U.S. FDA approval for the
Vabysmo prefilled syringe (PFS) for treating three leading causes of vision
loss.

Housebuilders traded higher in London, with Barratt Developments, Persimmon and
Taylor Wimpey surging 3-4 percent.

It is likely that the Labour Party victory will see the introduction of the
Freedom to Buy scheme to replace the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.

HSBC Holdings fell 1.4 percent after Bloomberg News reported that French bank
BNP Paribas and Swiss lender UBS are showing interest in buying its German
wealth-management unit.

Aixtron SE shares jumped 16.5 percent. The German company, which supplies
deposition equipment for chipmakers, announced healthier-than-expected
second-quarter orders.

Automakers BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen were trading higher as steep
tariffs on Chinese imports took effect.



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