European stock markets drop at open

LONDON: Europe's main equity markets fell in cautious opening trade on Tuesday before a key eurozone crisis meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares slid 0.68 percent to 5,314.16 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 1.02 percent to 6,022.24 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 0.73 percent to 3,215.50 points.

Elsewhere, Madrid declined 0.65 percent to 8,652.2 points and Milan shed 0.28 percent to 15,844 points.

Swiss stocks slid 0.63 percent to 5,291.39 points and Lisbon was off 0.28 percent at 6,334.93 points.

Global stock markets had edged higher on Monday, steadying after recent losses that were rooted in fears that the US and eurozone debt crises could push the world economy back into recession.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011