Europe's main stock markets rise at open

European stock markets rose around half-a-percent at the start of trading on Wednesday, with investors assessing US midterm election results that pointed to political gridlock across the Atlantic.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.6% to 7 079.76 points, compared with the close on Tuesday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.5% to 11 542.09 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.5% to 5 100.08.

In the US, President Donald Trump's Republican party maintained its control of the Senate but the Democrats regained power in the House of Representatives, in line with forecasts.

While the vote saw Trump's party lose overall power on Capitol Hill, analysts pointed out that the result is unlikely to lead to a reversal of the White House's popular tax cuts and deregulation that have helped to lift US stock markets this year.

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