European markets remain on hold as traders wait to see how far the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the leading US equity index, falls in its first session since last week's terrorist attacks on the US.

Despite a 50 basis point interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, which attempted to buoy sentiment a few hours before the trading began, the Dow fell 6% to 9,009 when the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opened at 13.30 GMT.