Europe: Stocks mixed at open

[LONDON] Europe's main stock markets were narrowly mixed at the start of trading on Monday, with London higher and eurozone rivals slightly down.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.3 per cent to 7,389.04 points compared with the close on Friday, dragged higher by solid share-price gains for the heavyweight mining sector on well-received Chinese economic data, analysts said.

HSBC topped the leaders' board, up 3.4 per cent in first deals after the British banking giant announced a share buyback plan alongside a rise in first-half profits.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index fell 0.2 per cent to 12,141.53 points at the open and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.1 per cent to 5,127.63.

AFP