Europe: Stocks fall slightly at open

[LONDON] European stock markets fell slightly at the start of trading on Wednesday, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index edging down just a couple of points to 6,818.72.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 0.3 per cent compared with the close on Tuesday to open at 10,627.18 points. The Paris CAC 40 gave up 0.1 per cent to 4,451.40.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed up almost one per cent Wednesday as a weaker yen boosted share values of major exporters, offsetting below-par factory output data that had aggravated concerns about Japan's stalled economy.

AFP