Europe: Stocks open mixed

[PARIS] European stock markets opened mixed on Monday, getting little boost from Asian trading although Tokyo extended its longest winning streak in its nearly 70-year history on the re-election of Shinzo Abe as prime minister.

After a quarter hour of trading, London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.1 per cent.

In the eurozone, both the CAC 40 in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were flat.

"While the political backdrop in Japan looks much more stable than it has in years the backdrop in Europe continues to be fraught with risk," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

He noted that "the crisis in Catalonia took another step backwards after the Spanish government in Madrid triggered (Article) 155 of the Spanish constitution ... prompting widespread protests in Barcelona." Article 155 of the constitution, which has never been invoked before in the four decades of Spanish democracy, will allow the central government to take over the regional government in Catalonia.

Madrid's IBEX 35 index shed 0.4 per cent in early trading.

AFP