Europe open: Shares open higher after Xmas break; Delivery Hero slumps

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.18% at 504.76 with major bourses mixed on what was expected to be a day with thin volumes.

In economic news, Chinese industrial profits fell for the fourth month in a row, down 7.3% in November on an annualised basis.

However, the pace of the fall slowed from October’s 10% and the huge 27% slump in September.

In equity news, shares in Delivery Hero were down sharply after Taiwan’s competition regulator rejected the sale of its Foodpanda business on the island to Uber Technologies for $950m.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com