European stock markets slide at open

Sept 25: Europe's stock markets slid at the start of trading on Wednesday following falls in Asia, as US Democrats launched formal impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.5 percent to 7,254.40 points, as British MPs return to parliament one day after a momentous Supreme Court ruling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend parliament ahead of Brexit was unlawful.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index retreated 0.5 percent to 12,247.75 points and the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent to 5,594.17 at the open compared with Tuesday's closing levels.

"Markets have taken a bit of tumble on fears US president Trump could be impeached, while the (UK) drama... is just as intoxicating as the Brexit drama rumbles on," noted Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading group Markets.com.

In a dramatic move Tuesday in the US, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi launched a formal impeachment inquiry.

Wall Street closed with sizeable losses ahead of her expected announcement.

Democrats accuse Trump of abuse of power in a reported attempt to pressure the newly-installed president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation into his lead challenger for the White House, Joe Biden, and Biden's son Hunter.

Focus in Europe meanwhile was on the UK parliament after Tuesday's Supreme Court judgement dented Johnson's authority, prompting calls for his resignation and casting further doubt on his promise to pull Britain out of the European Union on October 31, come what may.

AFP/APP