Europe: Stocks ahead at open

[LONDON] Europe's stock markets moved tentatively higher at the open on Thursday, tracking earlier gains in Asia and overnight on Wall Street, on the eve of key US non-farm payroll data.

In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip companies added almost 0.1 per cent to 7,039.76 points.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 won 0.5 per cent to 10,641.13 points and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.2 per cent to 4,500.36 compared with the close on Wednesday.

Asian markets rose Thursday, while the dollar strengthened further on growing expectations the US will hike interest rates by the end of the year, dealers said.

Another round of positive data out of Washington, this time on the key services sector, reinforced views that the world's top economy is back on track and able to deal with the impact of tighter borrowing costs.

AFP