LONDON, May 11 — Europe’s major stock markets dived by more than 1.5 per cent at the open today, joining a global selloff on heightened inflation fears.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip companies sank 1.8 per cent to 6,999.21 points compared with yesterday’s closing level.

In the eurozone, the Paris CAC 40 dropped 1.5 per cent to 6,287.47 and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 1.6 per cent to 15,150.34 points.

Asian equities also tumbled, following steep losses on Wall Street, as investors grew increasingly worried about a surge in inflation that could force central banks to wind back their ultra-loose monetary policies earlier than forecast.

"Inflation is what keeps investors up at night,” said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya. — AFP