European stocks opened slightly lower today, with investors watching Turkey closely following President Erdogan’s surprise decision this weekend to replace the central bank’s chief.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.3% in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks falling 1.7% while autos gained 0.9%. European markets received a muted handover from Asia-Pacific, where shares traded mixed on Monday as investors watched moves in the Turkish lira and bonds, following a sudden upheaval at the country’s central bank.

The Turkish lira weakened more than 10% to 7.9484 against the greenback this Monday, compared to levels below 7.5 per dollar seen last week. Earlier, the lira had weakened to as much as 8.1745 against the dollar.

Sisanda Mpiti.