Europe will open higher after the Fed's presidency announces that rates are almost neutral

A much anticipated speech by the US Federal Reserve Chairman gave the markets something to be optimistic about on Thursday. Jerome Powell said Wednesday in New York that he felt that the benchmark interest rate of the Fed was close to the neutral level; which marks a milestone in the comments made in recent months.

In October, Powell had said that the United States was still "far away" from interest-rate neutral interest rates – which indicated to markets at the time that Other rate hikes were on the horizon.

Following Powell's comments on Wednesday, Wall Street saw equities skyrocket, with the Dow recording its largest rally in eight months, closing more than 600 points. The Wall Street movement spurred the Asian markets, which rose on Thursday and created an optimistic sentiment for Europe.

Standing on news from the central bank, the Bank of England said that a "messy" departure from the European Union would put the British economy under extreme pressure and could be more painful for the UK that has not been the global financial crisis.