European stock markets were off
to a rocky start on Friday, a day after the European Central
Bank (ECB) decided to extend its bond-buying program to protect
the eurozone economy from March to the end of 2017.
Although the central bank extended the time frame for asset
purchases, investors focused on plans to reduce purchases
starting in April to 60 billion euros from 80 billion.
The Euro Stoxx index fell 0.1% to 3,184 points.
London and Paris were off to a weak start, although Milan was
the worst in Europe with the FTSE MIB bluechip index down 1% in
mid-morning trading with bank shares among the poorest
performers.
Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) bank fell 5% after trading
halted due to excess volatility.
UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) also fell 1.9%.
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