(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's stock markets slid for a second day running on Friday, with a broad sell-off in global equities markets showing no signs of abating despite solid US jobs data.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.69 percent to stand at 6,683.76 points, compared with Thursday's closing levels.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 tumbled 1.64 percent to 9,252.77 points and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.56 percent to 4,222.35.
The losses come after the Dow on Thursday posted its biggest single day sell-off since February on weak eurozone data and as news of Argentina's debt default shook the market.
The losses, which extended to Asia overnight as investors also fretted over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, come after a rally that has seen share markets around the world hit multiple record highs.
Portugal's main exchange slumped 2.40 percent, dragged down by banking shares after stricken lender Banco Espirito Santo reported a reported a record first-half loss on Wednesday.
"News that the S&P suffered its first monthly decline since January really seems to have rattled confidence and already we are starting to hear calls for a 'correction'," said Stan Shamu at trading firm IG Markets.
The drop came despite Chinese manufacturing activity increasing sharply in July and rising at its fastest pace in more than two years, according to official statistics.
But European equities retraced earlier losses after a solid US jobs report for July and some strong earnings helped to push Wall Street stocks mostly higher.
In the much-anticipated report, the Labor Department said the US economy generated 209,000 new jobs in July, down from June but continuing a strong growth streak since February.
About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02 percent to 16,559.84.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.19 percent to 1,934.37, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index put on 0.08 percent to 4,373.05.
The report was "a timely reminder that US economic data is not suddenly shifting into overdrive," said Berenberg senoir economist Christian Schulz.
- Euro stabilises -
In foreign exchange trading, the euro rose to $1.3417 from $1.3390 late in New York on Thursday. On Wednesday it struck an eight-month low of $1.3367.
The European single currency also rose to 79.67 pence from 79.29 pence on Thursday. The pound slid to $1.6838 from $1.6886.
The price of gold declined to $1,284.50 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1,285.25.
On the corporate side, shares in French telecom company Iliad plunged 7.79 percent, pulling down the entire telecom sector after the company bid for US firm T-Mobile.
ArcelorMittal slumped 5.15 percent after the steel titan reduced its outlook for 2014 because of a lower-than-expected iron ore price, even as it reported a return to profit in the second quarter.
L'Oreal slipped 2.02 percent to 123.85 euros despite the leading world cosmetics group posting a 1.5-percent rise in first-half net profits.
In London, International Airlines Group gained 2.39 percent after the company reported higher quarterly profit thanks to improvement at its Spanish carrier Iberia, while its other main operator British Airways landed a solid performance.
IAG also announced that Iberia would be taking delivery of a fleet of new long-haul Airbus planes after signing a purchase proposal last year.
Meanwhile shares in French construction giant Vinci dropped 5.12 percent it reported its full-year sales could fall despite a 76.9 percent surge in first-half net profit.
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