Europe Roundup: Broadly lower

LONDON: European stocks and the euro fell yesterday on dismal eurozone manufacturing figures, making a downbeat start to September after an extremely volatile August which was haunted by shadows of global recession.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares slid 0.21 per cent to 5,383.29 points in early afternoon trade, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 1.68 per cent to 5,687.94 points and the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.77 per cent to 3,231.87.

At 1251 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2 per cent at 968.84 points.

"The beginning of the month, usually marked by the inflow of new money into the markets resulting in higher performance, has bestowed a rather disappointing picture upon investors," said ETX Capital trader Anita Paluch.

"European shares fell after a wave of weak PMI readings across Europe pointing to a slowdown in economic activity." - Agencies