European stocks open up on final trading day of year

LONDON: Europe’s main stock markets rose at the open Friday, the final trading day of the year.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.1 percent to 7,728.33 points.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 won 0.3 percent to 7,558.82 points and Frankfurt’s DAX index climbed 0.2 percent to 16,740.09.

European equities decline at open

The year has seen eurozone indices outperform the FTSE by sizeable amounts, as inflation remains higher in the UK compared with France and Germany.