EUROPEAN MARKETS SAW some gains in early trading this morning as investors were buoyed by last night’s statement by the US Federal Reserve.

Although the markets have calmed somewhat after the global routs earlier this week, volatility remains today as the main indexes fluctuate.

The Wall Street Journal reported an early rally on European markets as investors’ concerns were eased by last night’s announcement from the US Fed that it will keep interest rates at record lows through mid-2013. However, some of these losses have been pared back already. Reuters notes that European bank losses have dragged some of the indexes lower.

London’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.3pc but has since fallen back to 5,191.35.

Likewise, some early morning gains have been rubbed out in Dublin but the ISEQ is still up over 27 points to 3,395.44.

Frankfurt’s DAX gained 1.3 per cent in early trading but Paris’s CAC-40 was down 0.06 per cent after an earlier rally.

Last night, US stocks rose at the close of trading with the Dow Jones up almost 430 points and the S&P 500 gaining 4.7 per cent. The Nasdaq climbed over 124 points to 2,482.52.

Overnight, the Asian markets also performed well with Japan’s main Nikkei index up more than 1 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped almost 453 points, or 2.3 per cent.

Read: Dow Jones rallies after Fed statement

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