Stock markets soar across Europe as FTSE clocks up new high

Upbeat Federal Reserve outlook combines with relief at Dutch election result, pushing Amsterdam's index to nine-year high

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.