Stock markets across Europe soared as traders reacted to the defeat of an anti-EU candidate in Dutch elections and the latest interest rate announcement from the US central bank. The Federal Reserve accompanied its latest rate rise this week with guidance that it would not tighten policy quite as much as financial markets anticipated this year. That message buoyed share prices, adding to the upbeat mood prompted by the results of parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. Amsterdam’s stock index jumped to a nine-year high after the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, successfully fought off the challenge of the populist Geert Wilders. The UK’s main bluechip index, the FTSE 100, clocked up a new all-time high and the main indices in France and Germany closed at their highest levels since mid-2015.

Source: The Guardian March 16, 2017 18:58 UTC