Europe: Stocks mostly dip at open as oil spikes

[LONDON] European stock markets fell at the open Wednesday in Frankfurt and Paris but rose in London, as Brent oil soared to US$113 on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Frankfurt's DAX index sank 0.6 per cent to 13,828.76 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 0.3 per cent to 6,375.78.

On the upside, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.8 per cent to 7,388.34 points, with energy firms buoyed by the soaring crude market.

Brent oil spiked to US$113 per barrel on Wednesday and Asian equities sank, with investors increasingly anxious about the Ukraine war's impact on global energy supplies and the fragile economic recovery.

"Anxiety is again rippling through global financial markets... as the Ukraine conflict ratchets up inflationary pressures and threatens to derail global growth," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter. AFP