European stocks sink at open; London loses 0.96pc

LONDON: Europe's main stock markets fell sharply at the start of trading on Thursday, after a weak performance earlier in Asia and overnight on Wall Street amid ongoing uncertainty over a new Greek bailout.

Sentiment was also hit after Moody's said Thursday it was reviewing some 114 European banks and financial groups, including many of the top firms, for a possible ratings downgrade because of the eurozone debt crisis.

In opening deals, London's FTSE 100 index was down 0.96 percent to 5,835.94 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 1.39 percent to 6,665.24 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 0.76 percent to 3,366.00.