Investors advised against knee-jerk post-election decisions

Investors have been urged to resist the temptation to make "knee-jerk" decisions following the General Election outcome.

Mark Dampier, head of investment research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that while the hung parliament result has been seen as a surprise, "this is very different to the Brexit vote of last year", with a hard Brexit now looking less likely following Thursday's vote.

Mr Dampier said: "We have always advocated a level-headed, long-term approach to investing, and I would urge investors to resist the temptation to make short-term, knee-jerk reactions. We could see some volatility over the coming days as more details emerge about the new government."

He continued: "In our view investors should continue to pursue their long-term strategy. The international nature of the UK market means that in reality the election result matters little for many UK-listed companies."

Jason Hollands, managing director of investment management group Tilney, said: "From an investment perspective, a hung parliament is a market unfriendly outcome as it creates more uncertainty in the near term - something markets hate."

He said that even without the complexities of the election result, the UK economy already faces near-term headwinds, with inflation running ahead of wage growth and this squeeze being likely to weigh on consumer spending for a period.

But Mr Hollands said: "As we saw in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, it is usually best to let the dust settle on the initial market reactions to political events such as this rather than act hastily.

"So, for now, the best course of action is probably to sit tight and assume the brace position as some potentially volatile days are ahead for markets as well as UK politics."