LONDON, March 7: US employment data sent world stock markets sliding on Friday, with sharp losses in Europe and Asia, but traders on Wall Street later recovered their composure to lift US shares from their lows.

At the end of a grim week for equity markets, European markets posted losses after sharp falls earlier in Asia. Wall Street opened lower after weak jobs data, but appeared to react to further intervention from the Federal Reserve.

In Europe, the London FTSE 100 index shed 1.15 per cent to close at 5,699.90, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1.26 per cent to finish at 4,618.96 while the Frankfurt Dax slipped 1.17 per cent to reach 6,513.99.

A slew of disappointing earnings reports in Europe added to the pre-weekend blues.—AFP