AlQa'dah 13, 1434, Sep 19, 2013, SPA -- European shares rose strongly on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve surprised investors by deciding to keep its economic stimulus programme in place, driving regional indexes to multi-year highs, Reuters reported. The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 1.1 percent at 1,272.44 points, its highest level since mid-2008. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose 1.3 percent to its highest level since May 2011, while Germany's DAX advanced 1.2 percent to hit fresh all-time highs. Meanwhile, the Euro STOXX 50 Volatility index, known as the VSTOXX, dropped 5.4 percent to a one-month low, signalling a sharp rise in investor risk appetite.