European stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve’s decision to slow the pace of its bond purchases boosted investor confidence in the U.S. economic recovery. U.S. index futures slipped after equities jumped to a record in New York, while Asian shares pared gains.

Saab AB surged by the most in at least 15 years after getting a $4.5 billion contract fromBrazil. Amadeus IT Holding SA jumped to a record after the Spanish travel-reservations company said its $500 million purchase of NMTI Holdings Inc. will boost profit and sales for 2013. Algeta ASA also climbed to a record after Bayer AG said it will buy the drugmaker for about 17.6 billion kroner ($2.9 billion), a price that topped a preliminary offer.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 1.2 percent to 317.73 at 8:10 a.m. in London, its highest level since Dec. 10. The equity gauge has slid 2.3 percent from Nov. 28, when it hit its highest level since May 2008. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.3 percent today, after the equity benchmark surpassed its previous record. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 percent.

The U.S. central bank said it plans to cut its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion, taking its first step toward unwinding the monetary stimulus that ChairmanBen S. Bernanke put in place to help the economy recover from one of its worst recessions. The Fed’s purchases will be divided between $40 billion in Treasuries and $35 billion in mortgage bonds starting in January, Bernanke said after concluding a two-day policy meeting.