European stocks firm at open; London up 0.23pc

LONDON: European stock markets rose at the start of dealing on Friday, boosted by upbeat US data and despite ongoing eurozone woes, but gains were capped by low-volume trade before the New Year holiday.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 climbed 0.23 percent to 5,579.59 points ahead of an earlier-than-usual finish at 1230 GMT.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.31 percent to 5,867.03 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.66 percent to 3,146.89 points

However, all three markets appear set to finish 2011 with sizeable losses after a year which was rocked by the eurozone's long-running sovereign debt crisis.