European stock markets drop at open

LONDON, February 29: European stock markets slid at the start of trading on Monday following heavy falls across Asia.
London s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.7 percent to 6,053.19 points compared with Friday s close.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt s DAX 30 index shed 0.9 percent to 9,424.93 points and the Paris CAC 40 declined also by 0.9 percent to open at 4,275.84.
Asian stock markets broadly fell on Monday, with Shanghai ending at a month-low and Tokyo diving into the red after a G20 meeting failed to quash concerns about stalling global growth.
Chinese shares closed down 2.86 percent, as traders remained unconvinced the G20 had promised enough to revive the world s sagging economy.
Global stock markets had been buoyed Friday by firmer oil prices and after brighter-than-expected US growth data, as finance and banking chiefs from the world s leading economies began their talks.
“It could be argued some of these (pre-weekend) gains were as a result of some optimism about this weekend s events in Shanghai as G20 finance ministers met to discuss the global economy,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at trading group CMC Markets UK.-Agencies