UK shares inch higher on election day

UK shares inched higher in thin trading on Thursday as Britons begin casting their votes in a general election that could decide the fate of Brexit. The FTSE 100 added 0.3% by 0809 GMT, boosted by financial stocks and miners, though a stronger sterling hit exporters such as British American Tobacco and capped gains.

The more domestically-inclined FTSE 250 advanced 0.2%, while infrastructure firm John Laing underperformed with a near 8% drop after saying it expects annual net asset value to miss market estimates. Polls in the run-up to the election had indicated that Boris Johnson's Conservative Party would win a majority, but recent estimates have shown that its lead over the opposition Labour Party narrow, stoking worries of a hung parliament.