European shares opened weaker today as crude oil touched new record highs above $60 a barrel to eat into corporate profits.
Nokia shed 2.7 per cent, with SAP, Ericsson, Siemens and Philips also among leading losers, following falls from stocks such as Cisco Systems on Wall Street on Friday.
“There is no specific reason why techs are down, it is just general macro-economic factors, the oil price and stocks in Asia being down,” said a trader.
By 7.25am, the FTSE 300 index was 0.7 per cent lower at 1,134.18 to follow Friday's weaker close from three-year highs.
British online casino PartyGaming jumped 9 per cent on its market debut after pricing its shares at 116 pence each as part of London's biggest initial public offering for several years. Shares were trading at 127p early this morning.
Crude oil traded as high as $60.50 as strong US demand supports soaring fuel costs, while investors were also spooked by the election of ultra-conservative Iranian hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in presidential elections.
Shares may receive a slight boost from Germany's Ifo business sentiment index at 8.00am, which is expected to show its first improvement in five months in June, helped by a weaker euro and hopes that an early general election will speed up reform.