On Wednesday, the Fed became the latest major central bank to reduce borrowing costs, cutting its main interest by half of a percentage point to roughly 4.8% from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. It also signaled that there will be more cuts to come in the next few months.

The UK's benchmark stock indexes ended higher on Thursday, after the Bank of England kept rates on hold, as widely expected, and extended its bond reduction plan for another year. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.

British stock indexes dropped on Wednesday as investors reined in bets on interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, while global risk sentiment was fragile ahead of a policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.