Gilt yields hold high as election losses hit U.K.'s Starmer

Gilt yields hold high as election losses hit U.K.'s Starmer

From Squawk Box Europe Express by CNBC International

May 8, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of local election losses on U.K. stocks and gilt yields, alongside geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and corporate outlooks from Commerzbank and IAG.

U.K. stocks have dropped and gilt yields hold near multi-decade highs, after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party see bruising losses in local elections, with Farage’s Reform UK making substantial gains. The U.S. and Iran exchange fire around the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington waits on a response to its proposal to end the war. But President Trump insists the latest incident does not violate the two sides' fragile ceasefire. Meanwhile Commerzbank ups its outlook as it looks to fend off UniCredit but gets a negative reaction in early trade. CEO Bettina Orlopp tells CNBC the German lender is worth more. And IAG warns of a hit to annual profit as the war in Iran sees jet fuel prices soar - shares of the British Airways owner are coming under pressure in early trade. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Topics covered

  • U.K. politics
  • gilt yields
  • local elections
  • stock market
  • Iran conflict
  • Commerzbank outlook
  • jet fuel prices

Keywords

  • gilt yields
  • U.K. stocks
  • Keir Starmer
  • local elections
  • Commerzbank
  • IAG
  • jet fuel prices
  • Reform UK
  • Iran conflict
  • Bettina Orlopp

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour Party, Reform UK, Commerzbank, UniCredit, IAG, British Airways

Places: Strait of Hormuz, U.K., U.S.

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