LONDON: European stock markets opened mixed Thursday after subdued Asian trade, with London sliding before a crucial austerity budget.

The British capital’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.2 percent to 7,338.89 points, as finance minister Jeremy Hunt readied a budget that will hike taxes and slash spending.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 index rose 0.3 percent to 6,628.28 points and Frankfurt’s DAX won 0.9 percent to 14,360.48.

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Hunt’s budget comes a day after figures showed UK inflation spiked to 11.1 percent in October, the highest since 1981, as Britain is hammered by a cost-of-living crisis.