Prudential, Britvic soar (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 24 Jun - UK shares closed higher as markets focus on the upcoming elections while keeping an eye on central bank moves.

Last week the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at a 16-year high of 5.25%, as widely expected, while the the Swiss National Bank cut rates by 25 basis points to 1.25%.

The Norges Bank, Norway's central bank, said it decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.5% and is likely to keep it at this level until the end of the year, before gradually reducing it.

Investors are however cautious as elections approach. Recent polls show Labour well ahead of the Conservatives and Reform.

Among individual stocks, Prudential gained 7.32% at 759.00 pence after the insurer announced a new 2 billion dollar share buyback program.

While Britvic soared 7.13% at 1,172.00 pence after Carlsberg announced an agreement with PepsiCo which is seen as paving the way for the Danish firm's attempt to buy the UK soft drinks group.

The London FTSE 100 closed up 0.53% at 8,281.55 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 24-06-24 18:22:54 (0544) 5 NNNN