However, French utility giant EDF inched 0.4 per cent higher, underperforming the market it said it was cutting its 2016 earnings expectations due to lower output.
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Mining shares were the top-performing FTSE stocks, led by Glencore which finished up 5.5 per cent as the Fed’s decision pushed down the USA dollar, making commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
JPMorgan rose 0.5 percent and was the top boost on the S&P financial index .SPSY after striking a deal with Wal-Mart to process payments.
Miners led the European stock market higher as the Fed’s decision to keep rates unchanged pushed down the US dollar on currency markets, thereby making commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Turning to United States markets, the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P were each up 0.6 percent, while the dollar softened 0.4 percent to $1.1228 against the euro.
Yields, which fall as bond prices rise, had been declining since Wednesday afternoon, when the Fed kept interest rates steady and strongly suggested that it will be slow to raise rates over the longer term. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 14.06 points, or 0.7 percent, 2,177.18 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 44.34 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,339.52.
PULLED A RABBIT: Open source software company Red Hat rose $3.89, or 5 percent, to $80.86 after the company reported better than expected results in its second quarter.
On Friday, yields gained some ground after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said he had wanted to raise interest rates this week to help prolong the economic expansion, explaining why he was one of three dissenters from the Fed policy-committee decision to hold rates steady.
The spread between Treasury two- and 30-year yields was about 158 basis points, having narrowed 10 basis points this week. USA benchmark crude rose 98 cents to close at $46.32 a barrel, while Brent crude, used to price Global oils, gained 82 cents to close at $47.65 a barrel.
TAKE A PICTURE: Shares of GoPro, the activewear camera company, rose $1.38, or 9 percent, to $16.35 after the company announced updates to its Hero camera products.
Currently, only 12.4 percent of market participants foresee a rate increase at the FOMC’s November meeting, while the majority – roughly 50 percent – anticipate the Fed moving in December, according to the CME Group FedWatch tool.
Earlier, the euro touched its highest level against the dollar in almost a week at $1.1250.
The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield dropped to as low as 1.608 percent, down sharply from Wednesday’s high of 1.738 percent and hitting its lowest level in nearly two weeks.
CURRENCIES: The dollar climbed to 101.10 yen from 100.84 yen in late trading Thursday.
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Oil prices rallied to a two-week high, helped by US government data that showed a surprising crude inventory drop.
