Europe: Stocks mostly drop at open on Ukraine

[LONDON] European stock markets fell at the open on Tuesday (Mar 1) in Frankfurt and Paris but rose in London, amid concern over Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine, dealers said.

In initial deals, Frankfurt's DAX index slid 0.5 per cent to 14,393.75 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 0.4 per cent to 6,631.91.

On the upside, London's FTSE 100 rose almost 0.4 per cent to 7,484.19 points.

Shell's share price added 0.2 per cent after the energy major announced it would sell its stake in all joint ventures with Gazprom, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The news came after rival energy titan BP also signalled its exit from Russia.

"European stock indices remain under... negative pressure due to the war," noted Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya. AFP