Europe: Equities decline at open

[LONDON] European stock markets ceded ground at the open on Wednesday, hit by overnight losses on Wall Street and earlier in Asia.

Global investor sentiment took a heavy knock after top Federal Reserve officials dented hopes for a big US interest rate cut next month.

In initial deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.1 per cent at 7,413.97 points.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 0.1 per cent to 12,210.52 points and the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.2 per cent to 5,504.67 compared with closing levels on Tuesday.

Adding to the downward pressure were worsening tensions between the US and Iran, as well as jitters before this week's meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

AFP