European stocks steady at open

London - European stock markets stabilised at the start of trading on Thursday, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index almost flat at 7 347.50 points.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 index also flatlined at 5 374.57, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 added just 0.2% to 13 026.30 points from Wednesday's closing level.