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Europe closes nearly 3% higher after UK election, US jobs report

European shares rallied on Friday after a more decisive-than-expected U.K. election outcome by the center-right Conservative party.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index finished around 2.9 percent higher, with all major European bourses posting gains of over 2 percent.

The U.K. election results confounded pollsters but galvanized the financial market, as the incumbent Conservative Party secured an outright majority.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 provisionally closed 2.3 percent higher, with U.K. banks sharply higher. Shares of Barclays finished around 4 percent higher,with shares of Lloyds close to 6 percent higher and RBS around 6 percent up.

Read MoreTories win; Cameronsays stage set for EU referendum

UK housebuilders, impacted by fears of the "mansion tax" and less home ownership under a Labour government, also outperformed on Friday.

Homebuilders Barratt, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey all rallied over 5 percent. Berkeley group saw gains of around 10 percent..

Sterling surged against the dollar on the news, trading as high as $1.5511, compared with around $1.5253 overnight, and hung onto most gains throughout the trading day.

The French CAC and the German DAX provisionally finished 2.3 percent and 2.5 percent higher respectively.

US jobs data cheers markets

U.S. stocks surged more than 1 percent on Friday as investors cheered the nonfarm payroll jobs report, which helped support European markets.

The U.S. economy created 223,000 jobs in April, bouncing back from a sluggish period the first three months of the year, as companies shook off the effects of a surging U.S. dollar and falling profits. The unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent. The result marks a recovery from March's 126,000 jobs, the worst report since December 2013.

Economists expected nonfarm payrolls to rise 224,000 in April, with the unemployment rate dropping to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in March.

Analysts called the April employment figures a "Goldilocks" report because it was just right for gains in stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average quickly gained more than 250 points as all blue chips advanced.

Syngenta soars

Agrochemicals firm Syngenta on Friday rejected a $45 billion takeover offer from Monsanto, saying the offer undervalued the Swiss firm and did not fully take into account regulatory risks.

Shares in Syngenta shot up to close nearly 20 percent higher, climbing to the top of the Euro Stoxx 600 Index.

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