(Corrects to fix typo in first paragraph)
Oct 21 (Reuters) - European shares opened slightly higher on
Monday, indicating that investors remained hopeful that Britain
would be able to avoid a disorderly exit from the European
Union, even as British lawmakers delayed a crucial vote on the
withdrawal agreement.
The British government insisted on Sunday the country will
leave the European Union on Oct. 31 despite a letter that Prime
Minister Boris Johnson was forced by parliament to send to the
bloc, requesting for a Brexit delay. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.2% after
finishing nearly flat last week, hurt by some weak quarterly
results and conflicting Brexit headlines.
London's blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 0.3% as
export-heavy firms benefited from a weakness in the pound, while
the domestically focused mid-caps index .FTMC dropped 0.3%.
Tomra Systems TOM.OL gained 12% after reporting strong
quarterly results, including an all-time high order intake.
Wirecard WDIG.DE rose 4.6% after the German payments
company said it had hired KPMG to conduct an independent audit
to address allegations by the Financial Times, that its finance
team had sought to inflate its reported sales and profits.
On the other hand, the Berlin government's move to freeze
rents put real estate companies such as Deutsche Wohnen
DWNG.DE , Ado Properties ADJ.DE and Vonovia VNAn.DE under
pressure.