European shares opened lower today on concerns about the duration of the war in Iraq and weak chemical stocks after Britain's ICI warned on first-quarter profits.
French-American media giant Vivendi lost 3.5 per cent after it took steps overnight to head off a cash crunch, restructuring its debt and raising €3.5 billion in additional liquidity.
Deutsche Post fell 3.2 per cent after its DHL WorldWide Express unit said it would buy Airborne Inc's ground delivery business for about $1.05 billion.
ICI fell 40 per cent after its profit warning. By 8.13 a.m., the FTSE Eurotop 300 index was down 1.1 per cent per cent at 770 points as the narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 shed one per cent to 2,104 points.
"The news coming out of Iraq hasn't improved and with the dollar weak and oil prices rising, the two or three elements that supported us last week are turning in the opposite direction," one dealer said.
Gold and oil prices edged higher in Asia today, while the dollar slid against the yen as investors hunkered down for a prolonged war in Iraq.
US equity index futures indicated the Dow Jones industrial average would open about 15 points lower today, extending its 307-point slide yesterday. The tech-laced Nasdaq exchange was also set to open weaker.