Europe: Stocks open mixed; London slips before budget

EUROPEAN stock markets opened mixed on Thursday (Nov 17) after subdued Asian trade, with London sliding before a crucial austerity budget.

The British capital’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.2 per cent to 7,338.89 points, as Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt readied a budget that will hike taxes and slash spending.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 index rose 0.3 per cent to 6,628.28 points and Frankfurt’s DAX won 0.9 per cent to 14,360.48.

Hunt’s budget comes a day after figures showed UK inflation spiked to 11.1 per cent in October, the highest since 1981, as Britain is hammered by a cost-of-living crisis. AFP