Gains in exporters and financial companies led a rally in European stocks after the Federal Reserve fulfilled investor expectations by raising rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
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London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.8 per cent to 6,056.9 points compared with Thursday’s close.
Investors believed that the market has fully factored in the expected rate hike.
The decision to finally raise interest rates is expected to benefit the United States dollar’s exchange rate in the short and medium term.
The Nasdaq composite rose 75.77 points, or 1.5 percent, to 5,071.13.
Regional stock markets were all higher, with Tokyo climbing 2.6 percent by the close, Sydney up 2.4 percent and Seoul 1.9 percent higher.
A recovery in oil prices also provided some upward jolts to the stock market.
Carmakers Volkswagen AG and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV advanced more than 4.3 percent, while Banco Santander SA and Natixis SA rose at least 3.4 percent.
Oil prices slid under 35 dollars a barrell, the lowest level in 7 years.
In response, the energy sector surged 2.85 percent as the biggest advancer in the S&P 500’s ten sectors.
The index for all items less food and energy, often referred to as the core CPI, rose 0.2 percent in November, the same increase as in September and October.
Meanwhile, US builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes remained relatively flat in December, dropping one point to 61 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
The Japanese central bank said it would buy another Yen300 billion ($2.45 billion) of exchange-traded equity funds, in addition to the Yen3 trillion in ETFs it has purchased annually since late 2014.
The dollar gave back much of its bounce from the decision, with the euro trading at $1.0945, up from $1.0930 Tuesday night.
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The US rate rise had sent the greenback rallying on Wednesday and Thursday, making oil more expensive for customers using weaker currencies.
