European shares rise on Fed’s renewed pledge to keep rates low

European shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday after the Fed reiterated its pledge to keep interest rates at the current low level for considerable time.  

The Fed said in its statement released on Wednesday it would keep interest rates low for a while, but indicated it will raise interest rates fast once it begins it first hike.

Eyes will focus today on Scotland referendum that will decided whether it would remain or split from the 300-year old UK union.    

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and will close at 10 p.m., where the first results will be announced 3 or 4 hours after that. The final result of the referendum will be available at 0400-0500 GMT on Friday.

As of 07:24 EST, STOXX EUROPE 600 soared 0.76% to record 347.00 points. Information Technology led the advance with a rise of 0.94%, followed by Health Care, which recorded 0.93% rise. 

The highest shares were for Sulzer AG-REG as it advanced 9.62% to 137.90 CHF, while the biggest drop was recorded by Polymetal Intern as its shares plummeted 3.81% to 482.40 GBP.

Looking at other the major European indices, Germany’s DAX index advanced 0.97% to 9755.35 points, while the French CAC index rose 0.61% to 4458.52 levels. Britain`s FTSE 100 index recorded 0.37% rise to 6805.89 points.