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On Thursday, London's FTSE 100 rose with support from Smith & Nephew, as the UK parliamentary polls indicated a potential win for the Labor Party. The FTSE 100 was up 0.72% following a strong performance in the previous session.

Polling for the UK parliamentary elections began at 0600 GMT and will continue throughout the day, with an exit poll scheduled for 2100 GMT. Opinion polls suggest that the Labour Party may replace the Conservatives after 14 years in power. Investors believe this potential change is already factored into the market, with results expected early on Friday. Trading activity has been muted as U.S. markets are closed for a holiday. 

Smith & Nephew, has become the top performer on the FTSE 100 index after Cevian Capital acquired approximately 5% of the company's shares. The stock surged by 5.6% to 1041.5 pence following the news. Cevian Capital, an activist investor, has now become the second-largest stakeholder in Smith & Nephew. Despite the recent increase, the stock has experienced an 8.6% decrease year-to-date and has decreased by more than half since February 2020, just before the pandemic lockdowns.

Barclays Plc's shares have increased by 1.3% to 221p, making it one of the top percentage gainers on the FTSE 100 index. The British lender has announced the sale of its German consumer finance business to Austria's BAWAG Group for a "small premium to net assets" to be paid in cash. This sale is expected to release approximately 4 billion euros ($4.32 billion) of risk-weighted assets, leading to a 10 basis point increase in the bank's CET1 ratio upon completion. With the stock up by approximately 40% year-to-date as of the last close, Barclays is making significant gains from this business sale. The automobile and parts sector also climbed 1.2% after reports of a slight increase in new car registrations in June, crossing the half-year "million motors" mark for the first time since 2019.
 

Technical & Trade View

FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8225

• Above 8363 opens 8500
• Primary support 8000
• Primary objective 8023
• 5 Day VWAP bullish
• 20 Day VWAP bearish

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