Europe: London stock market drops at open, eurozone steady

[LONDON] London's stock market fell at the open Thursday as the pound firmed against the dollar, while eurozone shares steadied and oil prices gained awaiting Opec's decision on crude output levels.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.3 per cent to 7,369.55 points compared with Wednesday's close.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index opened flat at 13,060.56 points and the Paris CAC 40 edged up around 0.1 per cent to 5,402.66.

"Today's main event is expected to be the OPEC meeting in Vienna where it is expected that oil ministers will extend the output freeze," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said in a note to clients.

Mr Hewson added that recent "underperformance of European markets may well be down to the slide in the US dollar this month which has seen both the euro and the pound regain ground".

AFP