European markets slip, with focus on geopolitics

Europe's main stock markets began the week in negative territory on Monday as cautious investors tracked geopolitical developments in Ukraine and the Middle East. In late morning deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 fell 0.21 per cent to 6,735.29 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index shed 0.56 per cent to 9,666.35 points and the Paris CAC 40 reversed 0.29 per cent to 4,322.53. Milan stocks dropped 0.88 per cent and Madrid decreased by 0.29 per cent. The Moscow stock market sank 1.27 per cent in late morning deals. Sydney added 0.15 per cent and Seoul was marginally lower, while Shanghai lost 0.22 per cent and Hong Kong shed 0.29 per cent. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday. New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.92 per cent to 17,100.18 points and the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to end at 1,978.22 on Friday. The European single currency climbed to $1.3524, unchanged from late in New York on Friday. The British pound slipped to $1.7072 from $1.7088 on Friday. The euro rose to 79.21 pence from 79.14 pence. The ruble fell against the dollar and the euro, with the dollar worth 35.12 rubles and the euro 47.50 rubles. In commodity deals, gold decreased to $1,314.71 per ounce from $1,307.25 on Friday, according to AFP.