European equities mainly drop at open
Europe's stock markets mainly fell at the start of trading on Wednesday (17 May) after sluggish Asian trade, as investors eyed slow progress over US debt talks.
In initial deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.2% to 7,734.19 points compared with Tuesday's closing level.
In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 also lost 0.2% to 7,390.43 points but Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.2% to 15,932.99.