Europe: Stock markets halt sharp losses at open

[LONDON] European stock markets largely steadied at the open on Wednesday following the previous session's sharp losses triggered by political turmoil in Italy.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was fractionally lower at 7,633.72 points, having shed 1.3 per cent on Tuesday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.2 per cent to 12,693.33 points and the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.3 per cent to 5,420.15 - having each shed a similar amount to London on Tuesday.

Milan's FTSE MIB was up 0.3 per cent in initial deals having tumbled 2.7 per cent on Tuesday.

AFP