The FDA move "is paving the way for organisations to mandate vaccines for workers and thus lift vaccination rates higher", said National Australia Bank's Tapas Strickland
The FTSE 100 index inched 0.1% higher and was set to rise for a third consecutive session. Industrial metal miners and oil stocks led the gains, climbing 1.2% and 0.6% respectively
The rouble-based MOEX index hit an all-time high of 3,949.07 points on Aug. 18, before fading as prices for oil, Russia's main export, tumbled. But passing the 4,000 threshold seems only a matter of time
The Fed's vice chair for supervision, Randal Quarles, said on Thursday that he was "fully committed" to keeping monetary policy running full-throttle while jobs recover, while laying out the case that "upside" risks to inflation may be mounting.
Optimism nevertheless appeared intact among traders as bitcoin zoomed to a record high above $63,000 ahead of Wednesday's trading launch of the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.