London shares fell at the open on Wednesday as European markets diverged following overnight losses in Tokyo and mixed trade on Wall Street.
The FTSE 100 index of top companies was down 0.24 percent at 6,322.90 points in early deals.
Overnight Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 117.71 points to 11,251.41, dragged down by profit-taking and a stronger yen following a G7 statement that warned over volatility in global forex markets.
Earlier US stocks traded narrowly mixed as markets looked ahead to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in Tuesday evening.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.24 percent to 14,004.56 points in midday trading.
The S&P 500 index edged up 0.09 percent to 1,518.38 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.16 percent to 3,186.88 points.
Elsewhere in Europe, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index rose 0.24 percent to 7,678.48 points on Wednesday while in Paris the CAC 40 added just 0.13 percent to 3,691.52.
London FTSE loses 0.24% at open
