European Markets Are Down
European markets opened with the region's main bourses down 0.1 to 0.6 percent as investors digested the bloc's latest sanctions for Russia and a flurry of data from German business confidence to UK growth.
Germany's Ifo survey showed there had been hefty fall in business confidence in Europe's biggest economy over the last few weeks, raising worries the region's growth engine could be stuttering.
"Geopolitical tensions are taking their toll on the German economy," Ifo said in a statement. "Companies were also less optimistic about future business developments."
In the currency market, the euro dipped after the downbeat data and the dollar, which has been the dominant force among the majors again this week, gained against the yen too.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Twaronite in Tokyo, editing by John Stonestreet)