British News Agency

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 1.21 percent, with all major bourses and virtually all sectors in the green. Mining stocks added 3.46 percent while utilities were a rare outlier, down 1.02 percent.

Retail stocks climbed 1.63 percent, led by gains for British retailer Next. The company jumped as much as 5.8 percent before paring gains slightly after saying it was on track to make almost £1 billion ($1.32 billion) in annual profits following an uptick in first-half sales.

Shares of Commerzbank traded 1.5 percent lower in morning deals as further developments emerged after UniCredit obtained a 9 percent stake in the German lender last week. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said the Italian bank could buy 4.5 percent of the state’s stake in Commerzbank because the government trusts it, Reuters reported Thursday, citing local media. UniCredit shares were mostly unchanged.

U.S. stocks initially jumped after the Fed announced a jumbo 50 basis point cut to interest rates, bringing its target range to 4.75 percent to 5.00 percent. However, markets ultimately closed lower amid concerns of a potential economic downturn. U.S. futures were seen lower overnight.

Trading in Asia-Pacific Thursday was choppy following the announcement, but stocks ultimately rose during Thursday’s session.

Also on Thursday, Norway’s central bank kept interest rates on hold at a 16-year high of 4.5 percent and said it plans to start cutting borrowing costs from the start of next year.