LONDON, March 16: European stock markets fell on Friday after Tokyo finished in the red, as investors remained wary despite modest overnight gains in New York, dealers said.

A rout on global equity markets, sparked by fears of a meltdown in the US housing market, was checked Thursday with solid share price gains in the United States, Europe and Asia.

However, in European deals on Friday, London's FTSE 100 of leading companies retreated 0.54 per cent to 6,100.00 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 slid 0.64 per cent to 6,543.54 and in Paris the CAC 40 fell 0.29 per cent to 5,374.15 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares decreased 0.47 per cent to 3,966.86 points.

The euro stood at 1.3316 dollars.

US stocks saw encouraging gains on Thursday as investors shook off a hotter-than-expected inflation report and focused on the market's rebound a day earlier.

Japanese share prices closed down Friday as investors were anxious about a stronger yen and problems brewing in the US housing market, dealers said.

In London on Friday, the commodities sector was weighed down by lower oil prices, after Opec cartel ministers held their crude production at existing levels.

The sector was also hit as base metals miners reversed Wednesday's gains on profit-taking.

Shares in British energy giant BP fell 0.83 per cent to 512.20 pence and Anglo-Dutch rival Royal Dutch Shell saw its 'A' shares fall 0.67 per cent to 636 pence.

In Paris, oil and gas giant Total sank 0.34 per cent to 49.15 euros.

Among the miners in London, Antofagasta dropped 1.26 per cent to 148.60 pence and Anglo American shed 1.77 per cent to 2,444 pence.

In US deals on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22 per cent to close at 12,159.68 while the Nasdaq composite increased 0.29 per cent to 2,378.70.

The broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 added 0.37 per cent to end at 1,392.28.

The market managed to withstand a report showing US wholesale prices unexpectedly surged 1.3 per cent in February.—AFP