European shares are weighed down by commodity issues as a report shows France's public debt has risen to a new high of 76% of economic output.

The French national statistics office INSEE said government debt stood at €1.46 trillion at the end of September, an increase of €29.4bn since the end of June, as spending rose during the downturn.

In the markets, steelmakers are suffering as currencies of commodity producers fell. ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, ThyssenKrupp AG and Salzgitter AG are all lower. Energy stocks Royal Dutch Shell and Total are also down.

Banks are perkier with UniCredit and Societe Generale doing well.

The German DAX is down 31 points to 5,406 with the French CAC slipping 17 points to 3942.

Air France KLM is lower on industry fears that Japan Airlines could file for bankruptcy. The Japanese airliner fell another 24% today on reports the group will go into bankruptcy as part of a revival plan.

HeidelbergCement AG slips as Germany's biggest cement maker said it is still committed to selling its operations in isreal.

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