European shares opened flat on Wednesday, weighed by a fall in mining stocks and lifted by a big rise for Ericsson after an activist investor bought a stake in the telecoms equipment firm, Reuters reported.. The broader pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.02 percent by 0712 GMT and euro zone blue chips added 0.1 percent. The FTSE rose 0.2 percent, helped by a weaker pound. Ericsson rose 4 percent, leading STOXX gainers, after Cevian Capital bought a stake of more than 5 percent, saying it saw significant potential in the Swedish firm. The Basic Resources index, where major mining companies are listed, was the biggest sectoral faller, dropping 1.4 percent.
