Europe's main stock markets sank at the opening bell on Thursday, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index down 0.3% at 7 174.22 points.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index lost almost 0.4% to 11 546.52 points and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.1% to 5 282.14, compared with Wednesday's closing levels.