LONDON, Jan 18 — European equities opened lower today, mirroring falls in Asia as investors track rising US bond yields and looming central bank interest rate hikes.

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent at 7,581.95 points even as official data showed Britain’s unemployment rate dropped and payrolls recovered further at the end of last year.

The Frankfurt DAX was 0.6 per cent lower at 15,831.85 points while the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.7 per cent to 7,153.86 points. — AFP