LONDON: Europe's stock markets rose Thursday after the US Federal Reserve said it will start stimulus tapering this month, and before a likely interest rate hike from the Bank of England.
In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose by 0.3 percent to 7,266.66 points, ahead of the BoE's latest monetary policy announcement at 1200 GMT.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX index added 0.5 percent to 16,033.13 points and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.4 percent to 6,977.01.
The Fed announcement brought to an end months of speculation about its plan for the bond-buying programme, and removed some unease among traders who were concerned that officials were leaving it too late to respond to rocketing inflation.
The Fed is the latest central bank to move away from its emergency measures and comes after rate hikes in several countries including Canada and South Korea, while the BoE is expected to follow suit later Thursday.
Economists predict the British central bank could lift its key rate from a record low 0.1 percent to 0.25 percent, in a bid to counter surging consumer prices.
"After BoE governor Andrew Bailey gave a strong hint a few weeks ago, a Bank of England rate hike seems very likely today," wrote Commerzbank analysts in a note to clients.
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