Europe: Stock markets lower after Asia slumps

[LONDON] Europe's main stock markets fell soon after opening on Monday following losses across Asia, a traders looked ahead to key central bank meetings.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was almost flat at 6,307.89 points compared with Friday's closing level.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index edged up nearly 0.1 per cent to 10,379.16 points and the Paris CAC 40 slid by around 0.2 per cent in value to 4,561.92.

Asian markets sank again Monday after pre-weekend losses on Wall Street and in Europe, with oil prices down and the yen recovering some of the losses suffered at the end of last week.

Dealers moved cautiously at the start of a busy week that includes policy meetings at the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan as well as earnings reports from big-name firms.

AFP