European shares rose on Thursday amid optimism around US interest rate cuts following soft economic data, while London markets gained as voting began in the UK general election with polls predicting a historic victory for the Labour party.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6% to a more one-week high.
Britains FTSE 100 advanced 0.8%, with markets waiting to see how large a majority the Labour Party might win.
The UK outcome, widely expected to be a Labour victory, wont have much impact unless theres a big upset or surprising outcome, as markets have likely already discounted this, said Bas van Geffen, senior macro strategist at Rabobank.
French stocks advanced for a second day with a 0.8% rise amid intensified efforts by opponents of Frances National Rally (RN) to prevent the far-right party from gaining power.
