European stocks rose to the highest level in more than five years as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly decided against slowing the pace of its monthly bond purchases.

The Fed yesterday refrained from reducing its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases, saying it needs to see more indications that the U.S. economy is improving sustainably. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg before the decision had predicted that the central bank would start tapering stimulus measures this month.

“Conditions in the job market today are still far from what all of us would like to see,” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said at a press conference in Washington after European markets closed. “The committee has concern that rapid tightening of financial conditions in recent months would have the effect of slowing growth.”

Bernanke reiterated that a decision on slowing the pace of asset purchases would depend on economic data, and that the Fed has no set timetable. The central bank repeated its guidance that its target interest rate will remain low for at least as long as unemployment exceeds 6.5 percent, and the outlook for inflation is no higher than 2.5 percent.

National benchmark indexes gained in all 18 western European markets today, except Iceland. Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 percent, extending a record. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 1 percent and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.9 percent.

UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank, climbed 2.7 percent to 4.94 euros. Standard Chartered added 3.3 percent to 1,564 pence. A gauge of European lenders increased 0.8 percent, extending its rally since a June 24 low to 20 percent.

Randgold jumped 8.1 percent to 4,841 pence as gold extended yesterday’s biggest gain in more than 15 months. Polymetal surged 7.9 percent to 705.5 pence, the largest advance since Aug. 16. Fresnillo Plc, which produces gold and silver in Mexico, rallied 6.1 percent to 1,069 pence.

A gauge of commodity producers posted the third-best performance of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600.

Richemont, owner of the Cartier brand, climbed 2.1 percent to 94.60 Swiss francs as a report showed watch exports rose 0.5 percent in August from a year earlier. Swatch, the biggest maker of Swiss watches, gained 1.7 percent to 596.50 francs.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell for the fourth time in five days as Libya’s oil production increased and President Bashar al-Assad said Syria will make available information about its chemical weapons.

Prices dropped as much as 0.5 percent. Output will rise following the reopening of two oil fields, according to Libya’s Oil Ministry. Syria will open sensitive facilities to international inspectors, Assad said in a televised interview. WTI jumped 2.5 percent yesterday as the Federal Reserve maintained monthly bond purchases to stimulate economic growth.

Crude rose earlier as U.S. jobless claims increased less than forecast last week. Applications for unemployment benefits climbed to 309,000, the Labor Department reported. Economists called for an increase to 330,000.

WTI for October delivery, which expires tomorrow, slid 28 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $107.79 a barrel at 9:55 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It surged 2.5 percent yesterday, the biggest increase since Aug. 27. The volume of all futures traded was 2.4 percent above the 100-day average. The more active November contract was down 39 cents at $106.89.

Brent for November settlement slid 81 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $109.79 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 20 percent above 100-day average. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $2.89 to WTI for the same month, down from yesterday’s $3.32.

Gold prices rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to leave unchanged its program to buy bonds . A promise to continue to pursue a policy of "cheap money " has increased the demand for the precious metal.

As in other markets , the market for precious metals investors were waiting for the partial collapse of the program to purchase bonds worth 85 billion dollars a month.

In the first years after the financial crisis, many investors invest their money in gold on concerns over the fact that alternative program the Fed to stimulate the economy , known as quantitative easing , will lead to higher inflation . Investors who put their initials on the rise , believed that gold better than other assets retain their value in an inflationary environment.

However , inflation has not reached alarming levels , while the Fed's balance sheet exceeded 3 trillion dollars. Despite the observed immediately after the announcement of the Fed's decision on Wednesday, rising gold prices , it remains one of the assets , showed the worst results this year.

Some analysts believe that the Fed's decision until the collapse of bond purchases once again shifted the market's attention to inflation risks . Even many experts had expected the central bank to reduce the amount of programs to stimulate the economy. Other brokers prefer not to put a special meaning in the Fed's decision , saying that gold prices are likely to continue to decline.

The cost of the October gold futures on COMEX today rose to $ 1375.50 per ounce.

Pointing to more pep in the pace of economic activity in the near term, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing that its index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose by slightly more than expected in the month of August.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.7 percent in August following a revised 0.5 percent increase in July. Economists had expected the index to increase by 0.6 percent, matching the growth originally reported for the previous month.

EUR/USD $1.3400, $1.3430, $1.3450, $1.3480, $1.3515

USD/JPY Y97.00, Y98.00, Y98.25, Y99.00, Y99.50, Y99.60, Y100.00

GBP/USD $1.5900, $1.6070

USD/CHF Chf0.9200, Chf0.9245, Chf0.9250

EUR/CHF Chf1.2400

AUD/USD $0.9325, $0.9350, $0.9425, $0.9450, $0.9500

USD/CAD C$1.0250, C$1.0400

U.S. stock-index futures rose after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly refrained from cutting monetary stimulus and investors awaited data on home sales and leading indicators.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  14,766.18 +260.82 +1.80%

Hang Seng 23,502.51 +385.06 +1.67%

FTSE 6,651.51 +92.69 +1.41%

CAC 4,208.43 +38.03 +0.91%

DAX 8,720.5 +84.44 +0.98%

Crude oil $108.61 +0.50%

Gold $1366.60 +4.51%

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

FedEx (FDX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman

Walt Disney (DIS) downgraded from Overweight to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley

Other:

Cisco Systems (CSCO) initiated with an Underperform at Credit Suisse

CRT Capital initiates Google (GOOG) with a Buy and price target of $1090

CRT Capital initiates Facebook (FB) with a Buy and price target $52

Data

00:00 China Bank holiday

01:30 Australia RBA Bulletin Quarter III

04:00 Japan BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda Speaks

04:30 Japan All Industry Activity Index, m/m July -0.6% +0.3% +0.5%

05:45 Switzerland SECO Economic Forecasts Quarter IV

06:00 Switzerland Trade Balance August 2.38 2.74 1.85

07:30 Switzerland SNB Interest Rate Decision 0.25% 0.25% 0.25%

07:30 Switzerland SNB Monetary Policy Assessment

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (MoM) August +1.1% +0.5% -0.9%

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (YoY) August +3.0% +3.3% +2.1%

10:00 United Kingdom CBI industrial order books balance September 0 2 9

The dollar continued its decline against the euro after the Federal Reserve yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to the current policy . The Fed decided to leave the interest rate at the current level of 0.25 %, and keep the size of the monthly program of asset purchases at the same level of $ 85 billion , as the authorities found it necessary to wait for the new signs of steady improvement in the economy . During the press conference after the announcement of the meeting of the Committee of the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the rate of reduction of asset purchases in the future will directly depend on how stable the improvement in the U.S. economy. According to Bernanke , while the process of growth of employment in the U.S. labor market remains " uneven " . Bernanke also said that the rise in interest rates on mortgage loans and uncertainty associated with the fiscal policy of the United States have a negative impact on the economy.

In addition, we add that the Fed lowered its forecast for economic growth . This year, the U.S. economy will be in the range from 2.1 % to 2.3 % instead of 2.3% -2.6 % , as previously thought.

The outlook for unemployment and inflation has remained virtually unchanged. One of the reasons that the Fed is not afraid to maintain the current pace of purchases - it's low inflation . The bank predicts that inflation will not exceed 2% mark until 2016 , well below the threshold of the Fed's 2.5% , as measured by the index PCE.FRS expects that inflation will be at a level not higher than 1.2 % in 2013, and will grow to a range of 1.7 % to 2 % by 2016. Economic growth will be between 2.9 % to 3.1 % in 2014 and 3% to 3.5% in 2015. By 2016, the U.S. economy will grow between 2.5 % to 3.3 %.

Higher rates of growth, in turn, should reduce the unemployment rate in the country, which is 7.3 %. Drop to 7.1% at the end of 2013 to 6.4 % in 2014 to 5.9 % in 2015 and 5.4% in 2016.

In light of these forecasts, the vast majority of Fed policymakers predicted that the bank will not raise interest rates until 2015 . By 2016, the federal funds rate can increase to a range of 1.75% - 2.25 %.

The pound fell markedly against the dollar, which in the first place was due to the publication of the weak performance on Britain. As shown by data from the Office for National Statistics , at the end of last month the amount of UK retail sales unexpectedly , and at the same time fell sharply , reflecting a marked decline in sales in food stores .

According to the report , a monthly basis, retail sales including automotive fuel , fell last month to 0.9 percent, almost entirely offset by an increase of 1.1 percent, which was recorded the month before. Add that to the experts according to the average value of this indicator would grow by 0.5 percent. Also , the data showed that sales excluding automotive fuel fell 1 percent after rising by 1.2 percent in July . Economists forecast that it will remain unchanged.

In annual terms, growth in retail sales including automotive fuel, slowed to 2.1 percent from 3 percent the previous month. Similarly, there was a sales excluding automotive fuel , whose growth declined to 2.3 percent from 3.2 percent. Experts estimate sales growth (including gasoline) should be 3.3 percent.

The Swiss franc rose slightly against the dollar amid the release of economic forecasts SECO. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) on Thursday raised its economic forecast for Switzerland for 2013 and 2014 , citing the increase in domestic demand.

It is worth noting that in its autumn forecast of the experts group raised the economic assessment for 2013 to the level of 1.8 percent from 1.4 percent , saying that the key factor is the strong performance of the domestic economy .

In SECO said private consumption , in particular, has provided strong support to the economy for several quarters . Consequently, the projections for the growth of private spending were increased to 2.4 percent from 2 percent , while the projections for public expenditure were decreased to 1.3 percent from 1.4 percent.

In addition, studies have revealed that the picture in the sector investment in construction is also positive , although limited capacity and the impact of weather conditions caused a temporary break in the upward dynamics. Meanwhile, SECO confirmed the forecast for growth in investment in the construction of 2 per cent .

Exports and imports are forecast to increase by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent respectively in the year. In June, experts predicted growth of 1.6 percent for exports and 1.2 percent for imports. Also SECO noted that the positive changes in the economy maintained a steady level of immigration, low interest rates and a lack of inflation. In addition , there were more positive signs of early recovery in exports .

EUR / USD: during the European session, the pair rose to $ 1.3569

GBP / USD: during the European session, the pair fell to $ 1.6059

USD / JPY: during the European session, the pair rose to Y99.00

At 12:30 GMT Canada will announce the change in the volume of wholesale trade for July, and the U.S. balance of payments current account balance for the 2nd quarter . At 14:00 GMT the U.S. will report on the volume of sales in the secondary market in August , and will present a production - Philadelphia Fed index for September

EUR/USD

Offers Y99.98, Y99.40/50, Y99.18, Y99.00

Bids Y97.75, Y97.65, Y97.30, Y97.10/00

GBP/USD

Offers $1.6250, $1.6235, $1.6200, $1.6170/80, $1.6145/50

Bids $1.6063, $1.6050/40, $1.6010/00, $1.5980

AUD/USD

Offers $0.9600, $0.9570/80, $0.9540/50, $0.9524

Bids $0.9485/80, $0.9465, $0.9430/20, $0.9400/390, $0.9350

EUR/GBP

Offers stg0.8550/55, stg0.8520, stg0.8460/65, stg0.8440/50

Bids stg0.8400, stg0.8355/50, stg0.8300, stg0.8258

EUR/JPY

Offers Y135.00, Y134.60, Y134.30/40

Bids Y133.00, Y132.60/50, Y132.00, Y131.60

USD/JPY

Offers Y99.98, Y99.40/50, Y99.18, Y99.00

Bids Y97.75, Y97.65, Y97.30, Y97.10/00

European stocks rose to the highest level in more than five years as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly decided against slowing the pace of its monthly bond purchases. U.S. index futures and Asian shares advanced.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rallied 1 percent to 316.26, the highest level since June 2008, at 10:18 a.m. in London. The equity benchmark has gained 6.4 percent so far this month, extending its advance this year to 13 percent, as central banks pledged to maintain stimulus measures to support the global economy.

The Fed yesterday refrained from reducing its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases, saying it needs to see more indications that the U.S. economy is improving sustainably. Economists surveyed before the decision had predicted that the central bank would start tapering stimulus measures this month.

“Conditions in the job market today are still far from what all of us would like to see,” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said at a press conference in Washington after European markets closed. “The committee has concern that rapid tightening of financial conditions in recent months would have the effect of slowing growth.”

Bernanke reiterated that a decision on slowing the pace of asset purchases would depend on economic data, and that the Fed has no set timetable. The central bank repeated its guidance that its target interest rate will remain low for at least as long as unemployment exceeds 6.5 percent, and the outlook for inflation is no higher than 2.5 percent.

UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank, climbed 3 percent to 4.95 euros. Standard Chartered added 3.6 percent to 1,568.5 pence. A gauge of European lenders increased 1.2 percent, extending its rally since a June 24 low to 21 percent.

Randgold jumped 7.7 percent to 4,822 pence as gold extended yesterday’s biggest gain in more than 15 months. Polymetal surged 11 percent to 724 pence, the largest advance since July 11. Fresnillo Plc, which produces gold and silver in Mexico, rallied 4.4 percent to 1,052 pence.

Richemont, owner of the Cartier brand, climbed 2.4 percent to 94.90 Swiss francs as a report showed watch exports rose 0.5 percent in August from a year earlier. Swatch, the biggest maker of Swiss watches, gained 2.2 percent to 599.50 francs.

FTSE 100 6,656.03 +97.21 +1.48%

CAC 40 4,218.57 +48.17 +1.16%

DAX 8,737.36 +101.30 +1.17%

EUR/USD $1.3400, $1.3430, $1.3450, $1.3480, $1.3515

USD/JPY Y97.00, Y98.00, Y98.25, Y99.00, Y99.50, Y99.60, Y100.00

GBP/USD $1.5900, $1.6070

USD/CHF Chf0.9200, Chf0.9245, Chf0.9250

EUR/CHF Chf1.2400

AUD/USD $0.9325, $0.9350, $0.9425, $0.9450, $0.9500

USD/CAD C$1.0250, C$1.0400

Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark regional index on course for its biggest gain in a year, after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly refrained from cutting U.S. economic stimulus.

Nikkei 225 14,766.18 +260.82 +1.80 %

Hang Seng 23,530.46 +413.01 +1.79 %

S&P/ASX 200 5,295.55 +57.41 +1.10 %

Shanghai Composite 2,191.85 +6.29 +0.29 %

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2.3 percent to 141.99 as of 2:33 p.m. in Hong Kong, poised for the highest close since May 22.

Markets in mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and Sri Lanka are closed for holidays.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, rose 1.7 percent to A$36.69

Rio Tinto Group, the second-biggest, advanced 3.1 percent to A$63.63.

00:00 China Bank holiday

01:30 Australia RBA Bulletin Quarter III

04:00 Japan BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda Speaks

04:30 Japan All Industry Activity Index, m/m July -0.6% +0.3% +0.5%

The U.S. currency weakened, pushing the Bloomberg Dollar Index toward the lowest level in seven months, after the Federal Reserve unexpectedly kept the current pace of asset purchases that tend to debase the greenback. The dollar traded near a seven-month low against the euro after policy makers maintained the U.S. central bank’s program to buy $85 billion a month of mortgage-backed securities and government debt, known as quantitative easing or QE, compared with a forecast by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News for a $5 billion reduction in Treasury purchases. The central bank left unchanged its outlook that its target interest rate will remain near zero “at least as long as” unemployment exceeds 6.5 percent, so long as the outlook for inflation is no higher than 2.5 percent, according to a statement.

The yen maintained losses versus most major counterparts after a government report today showed Japan had a trade deficit for a 14th month.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance said the nation had a trade deficit of 960 billion yen ($9.8 billion) in August, compared with the median estimate for a 1.11 trillion yen shortfall by economists polled by Bloomberg. Exports rose 14.7 percent from a year earlier, the sixth straight increase, while imports climbed 16 percent. The world’s third-biggest economy last recorded a surplus in June 2012.

In New Zealand, a report showed gross domestic product grew 2.5 percent in the three months through June 30 from a year earlier, beating the median forecast of 2.3 percent in a Bloomberg survey.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session the pair  rose to $ 1.3540

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.6110-50

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair rose to Y98.50

There is a raft of UK data due for publication at 0830GMT, including August retail sales, the August BOE Capital Issuance data and the August SMMT Auto Production Figures. It is hard to call how retail sales will have performed during the month. Improving consumer confidence and rising house prices should begin to boost purchases soon but data from the BRC suggests sales growth slowed in August after a strong July. At 1000GMT, the September CBI Industrial Trends Survey will cross the wires. The purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector was strong in August, suggesting the CBI survey will also show the sector expanding.

GOLD 1,366.40 57.00 4.35%

OIL (WTI) 108.24 2.82 2.68%

Nikkei 225 14,505.36 193,69 1,35%

Hang Seng 23,117.45 -63,07 -0,27%

S & P / ASX 200 5,238.14 -13.10 -0.25%

Shanghai Composite 2,191.85 6,29 0,29%

FTSE 100 6,558.82 -11.35 -0.17%

CAC 40 4,170.4 +24.89 +0.60%

DAX 8,636.06 +39.11 +0.45%

DJIA 15,676.90 147.21 0.95%

S&P 500 1,725.03 20.27 1.19%

NASDAQ 3,783.64 37.94 1.01%

(pare/closed(00:00 GMT +02:00)/change, %)

EUR/USD $1,3508 +1,11%

GBP/USD $1,6136 +1,42%

USD/CHF Chf0,9132 -1,37%

USD/JPY Y98,14 -1,00%

EUR/JPY Y132,61 +0,14%

GBP/JPY Y158,35 +0,44%

AUD/USD $0,9494 +1,46%

NZD/USD $0,8343 +1,32%

USD/CAD C$1,0227 -0,67%

00:00 China Bank holiday

01:30 Australia RBA Bulletin Quarter III

04:00 Japan BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda Speaks

04:30 Japan All Industry Activity Index, m/m July -0.6% +0.3%

05:45 Switzerland SECO Economic Forecasts Quarter IV

06:00 Switzerland Trade Balance August 2.38 2.74

07:30 Switzerland SNB Interest Rate Decision 0.25% 0.25%

07:30 Switzerland SNB Monetary Policy Assessment

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (MoM) August +1.1% +0.5%

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (YoY) August +3.0% +3.3%

10:00 United Kingdom CBI industrial order books balance September 0 2

12:30 Canada Wholesale Sales, m/m July -2.8% +1.6%

12:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims September 292 323

12:30 U.S. Current cccount, bln Quarter II -106.1 -96.3

14:00 U.S. Leading Indicators August +0.6% +0.6%

14:00 U.S. Existing Home Sales August 5.39 5.27

14:00 U.S. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey September 9.3 10.5