European stock markets rise modestly at open

[LONDON] Europe's main stock markets climbed modestly at the start of trading on Thursday, with dealers awaiting key retail sales data in Britain.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.2 per cent to 7,331.65 points compared with Wednesday's close ahead of the data due at 0830 GMT.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 edged up a handful of points to 12,595.61 and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.2 per cent to 5,389.82 points.

AFP