Europe: Equities ahead at open

[LONDON] European stock markets climbed at the start of trading on Tuesday, with London reopening after a long weekend.

In initial trade, the British capital's FTSE 100 index advanced 0.2 per cent to 6,285.06 points compared with Friday's close and following a public holiday on Monday.

In the eurozone on Tuesday, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index added 0.2 per cent to 10,356.14 points and the Paris CAC 40 won almost 0.1 per cent to 4,498.43 from Monday's closing level.

"European equities are trading little changed to moderately higher this morning as higher markets in China and Japan overnight are helping to maintain the positive sentiment," said analyst Markus Huber at City of London Markets.

"No doubt much of the general talk impacting market action is still about a US rate hike either in June or July." Asian stocks mostly gained on Tuesday and the dollar eased, as traders weighed the fallout from a likely US interest rate rise this summer.

Shares in Shanghai surged, while Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul rose in opening deals, but trade was muted after Wall Street was also shut Monday for a holiday.

AFP