MW: European stocks open lower; FTSE 100 drops 0.3%
By Polya Lesova
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets opened lower on Thursday, as traders booked some profits after the strong gains posted in the previous session. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 261.62 points. France's CAC-40 index (FR:PX1 3,702, +24.41, +0.66%) dropped 0.4% in early trade in Paris. Shares of oil major Total SA (TOT 49.11, +0.58, +1.20%) (FR:FP 38.74, +0.08, +0.21%) declined 0.3% after the firm agreed to buy a 20% stake in a liquefied natural gas project in Australia. Germany's DAX-30 index (DX:DAX 6,196, +31.12, +0.51%) fell 0.4% to 6,142.56. The U.K. FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 5,473, +43.26, +0.80%) slipped 0.3% to 5,415.05. Shares of GlaxoSmithKline (UK:GSK 1,266, -0.50, -0.04%) (GSK 39.10, +0.19, +0.49%) traded down 0.4%, as the firm announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer. Shares of Morrison Supermarkets PLC (UK:MRW 290.90, -1.60, -0.55%) dropped 2% after the firm reported a decline in fiscal first-half net profit. Shares of Home Retail Group (UK:HOME 214.20, -7.20, -3.25%) fell 4.2% after it issued a trading update that disappointed investors.
