European stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday, with banks stocks marching higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it will continue to raise official interest rates. The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.24% rose 0.2% to 382.88, closing at its highest level since July 20. On Wednesday, the benchmark closed fractionally lower as investors marked time before the highly anticipated Fed policy announcement.

U.S. stocks finished lower Thursday, with the Dow snapping a nine-day winning streak as investors found few reasons to chase equities a day after the Federal Reserve indicated it still intends to deliver another rate increase in 2017 and detailed the unwinding of $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

Most Asian stock markets fell Friday as investors turned cautious following new U.S. sanctions targeting North Korea and a China credit rating downgrade.