(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's main stock markets began the week in negative territory on Monday as cautious investors tracked geopolitical developments in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Investor sentiment remains clouded by the downing of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine last week, and by Israel's ground offensive in Gaza.
In late morning deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 fell 0.21 percent to 6,735.29 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index shed 0.56 percent to 9,666.35 points and the Paris CAC 40 reversed 0.29 percent to 4,322.53.
Milan stocks dropped 0.88 percent and Madrid decreased by 0.29 percent.
Traders remain on edge after Thursday's Malaysia Airlines MH17 tragedy, which the United States has said was caused by pro-Russian rebels.
Major European nations have meanwhile warned Moscow of additional possible sanctions over the crash, barely a week after the latest round of toughened embargoes on Russia.
Flight MH17 is believed to have been blown out of the sky on Thursday by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
- Moscow stocks extend losses -
The Moscow stock market sank 1.27 percent in late morning deals, as investors expressed alarm at the escalating crisis in Ukraine and the prospect of tougher sanctions doing more damage to the Russian economy.
"Scenes of conflict dominate news screens at present, be they in Gaza, Syria or Ukraine, and the result for financial markets has been an outbreak of risk aversion," said Chris Beauchamp at financial spread-betting firm IG.
"The possibility of fresh sanctions against Russia are dominating the news in Europe, which accounts for why the DAX is suffering more heavily than the FTSE, given Germany's close trading links with the Russian bear."
Asian markets turned mixed on Monday, as bargain-hunting was offset by lingering geopolitical concerns after last week's Ukraine airplane crash.
Sydney added 0.15 percent and Seoul was marginally lower, while Shanghai lost 0.22 percent and Hong Kong shed 0.29 percent. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.
- New York shares climb -
However, Wall Street had pushed higher on Friday as a wave of corporate deals and generally positive quarterly earnings appeared to eclipse gloomy news developments in Ukraine and Gaza.
"Although US markets seem to be able to completely shrug off the geopolitical risks, Europe and Asia can't quite shake off the possible ramifications of more sanctions against Russia and the intensifying situation in the Middle East," said Capital Spreads dealer Jonathan Sudaria.
"With the turn of events still evolving at a rapid pace, traders will continue to struggle to accurately discount what is most relevant."
New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.92 percent to 17,100.18 points and the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.54 percent to end at 1,978.22 on Friday.
The European single currency climbed to $1.3524, unchanged from late in New York on Friday.
The British pound slipped to $1.7072 from $1.7088 on Friday. The euro rose to 79.21 pence from 79.14 pence.
The ruble fell against the dollar and the euro, with the dollar worth 35.12 rubles and the euro 47.50 rubles.
In commodity deals, gold decreased to $1,314.71 per ounce from $1,307.25 on Friday.
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