Europe:Equities tread water at open

[LONDON] Europe's stock markets steadied Thursday in opening deals, as investors monitored easing Catalan tensions after Wall Street's latest record-busting performance.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index nudged almost 0.1 per cent lower to 7,529 points and the Paris CAC 40 shed a similar proportion to stand at 5,358.42.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 index crept nearly 0.1 per cent higher to 12,977.27 compared with the close on Wednesday.

Madrid's IBEX 35 was virtually unchanged at 10,276.20 points shortly after the open.

The Spanish index had surged 1.4 per cent on Wednesday after Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called for independence to be suspended to allow for talks with the Spanish government.

AFP