European shares rise after cautious Fed tone, FTSE hits record high

European stocks rose on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve suggested a less aggressive timeline for raising interest rates.

The Fed dropped the word "patient" from its statement in terms of raising interest rates, as expected, but also downgraded its views on the economy and inflation and lowered its interest rate trajectory. That signalled a far more gradual path to policy normalisation than many investors had foreseen.

At 0808 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,594.80 points, hovering just below a 7-1/2 year high.

Britain's FTSE 100 also hit a new record high. The FTSE rose as much as 0.5 percent to an intraday record high of 6,978.74 points, beating its previous peak of 6,974.26 points set on March 2.