LONDON: The London and Paris stock exchanges opened flat in subdued Christmas Eve trade on Friday, with Frankfurt closed for the festive break.

The British capital’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was marginally higher at 7,376.47 points, while the Paris CAC 40 drifted 0.1 percent lower to 7,099.26.

London and Paris are open for half-day sessions and will wrap up at 1230 GMT and 1300 GMT respectively.

“Markets are going to remain reticent today due to lower volume as traders are away for a holiday period,” AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam told AFP.

“We believe overall there is still plenty of optimism about Covid vaccines — however concerns are real that more restrictions may be placed ahead of New Year’s Eve to curtail the spread of Covid.”

Frankfurt’s DAX had advanced 1.0 percent on Thursday to finish the week at 15,756.31 points.

Asian markets extended gains Friday after Wall Street concluded a strong holiday-shortened week, boosted by fading fears over the Omicron coronavirus variant and bright US economic data.

Studies indicating Omicron infections are less likely to result in hospitalisation have increased confidence that the pandemic will have less impact on the economy.

Sentiment has also been buoyed by US approval of drugs from Merck and Pfizer to add to a growing arsenal of weapons against Covid.