Investing.com - European stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve announced the end of its easing program and expressed optimism regarding the U.S. economic recovery.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.57%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.78%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.43%.
At the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, the Fed said targets for inflation and a reduction in unemployment were on track, but added that interest rates would remain close to zero for a "considerable time".
The U.S. central bank said that although the jobs market is strengthening, there is still room for improvement, but not "significant improvement," as it has said previously, in the labor market participation rate.
"The Committee continues to see sufficient underlying strength in the broader economy to support ongoing progress toward maximum employment in a context of price stability," the Fed said.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.80% and 0.67%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) declined 0.57%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) advanced 0.58% and 1.04% respectively, while Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) climbed 0.46% and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) slid 0.58% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Renault (PARIS:RENA) surged 4.96% after the French carmaker said quarterly revenue climbed 6.7%.
On the downside, Linde (XETRA:LING) saw shares plunge 6.20% after the world’s largest industrial-gases company said it will miss full-year and 2016 profit goals.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.12%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) tumbled 1.90% and Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) lost 2.13%, while rivals Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) plummeted 2.90% and 3.15% respectively.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly higher. Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) gained 0.49% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) advanced 0.58%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) climbed 0.76% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) jumped 1.73%.
Barclays announced earlier that earnings rose in the third quarter even as the lender set aside £500 million to settle probes into currency markets.
U.K. wealth manager St James's Place (LONDON:SJP) led gains on the index, as shares rallied 3.34% after it posted a 17% increase in funds under management as more affluent clients sought out the company's services.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.16% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled an 0.20% increase, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.12% gain.
Later in the day, Germany was to produce preliminary data on the consumer price index, as well as a report on the change in the number of people unemployed.
The U.S. was to publish revised data on third quarter GDP, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims. In addition, Fed Chair Janet Yellen was to speak at an event in Washington.