NEW YORK - US stocks opened mostly lower as investors looked ahead to a smattering of economic reports in a holiday-shortened week. Five minutes into trade on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 9.87 points (0.06 per cent) to 16,488.28. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.32 (0.02 per cent) to 1,841.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 6.32 (0.15 per cent) to 4,150.27. Investors are watching for Monday's report on pending home sales and other economic releases later in the week on consumer confidence, home prices and a few other indicators. LONDON - European stock markets slid, with many investors away for an extended festive break, but Frankfurt hit a new record peak on optimism over the German economic outlook, dealers said. At close on Monday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index ended down 0.29 per cent at 6,731.27 points and the CAC 40 in Paris dipped 0.05 per cent to 4,275.71 points. And on its final trading day of 2013, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.39 per cent to a close of 9,552.16 points, after hitting a new historic high at 9,594.35 points. The British and French markets will remain open on Tuesday for a half-day, before a holiday shutdown across Europe on Wednesday for New Year's Day. The euro rose to $US1.3816 from $US1.3743 late in New York on Friday. HONG KONG - Asian markets were mixed, with Tokyo cheered by the yen hitting a five-year low against the dollar, while traders are broadly upbeat as they wind down for the end of a tumultuous year. Tokyo rose 0.69 per cent, or 112.37 points, to 16,291.31 - the index surged 56.72 per cent over the past 12 months, the best annual performance since 1972. Sydney added 0.61 per cent, or 32.7 points, to 5,356.8 and Seoul closed 0.45 per cent higher, adding 9.06 points to 2,011.34, while Shanghai slipped 0.18 per cent, or 3.72 points, to 2,097.53. In the afternoon Hong Kong eased 0.21 per cent. WELLINGTON - The NZX 50 Index rose 1.62 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 4768.98.