LONDON, Jan 12: Leading European stock markets fell on Friday, with overall overnight support from Wall Street countering sharp falls for British music group EMI and French supermarket giant Carrefour.
London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 0.15 per cent to 6,220.50 points at the half-way stage, in Frankfurt the DAX 30 index dropped 0.11 per cent to 6,679.99 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index dipped by 0.04 per cent to 5,607.38 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip shares edged down 0.01 per cent to 4,165.72 points. The euro stood at $1.2902.
Paris and Frankfurt stock markets had ended up almost 2.0 per cent on Thursday, largely owing to comments suggesting that the European Central Bank would not raise interest rates before March.
London had ended with a gain of more than 1.0 per cent on Thursday, lifted by strong gains to heavyweight mining shares.
On Friday in Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index of leading shares finished 1.30 per cent higher at 17,057.01 points, rebounding back above the 17,000 points level after two days of falls.
On Wall Street on Thursday, the leading blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to a record close, as sentiment was boosted by plunging crude oil prices, traders said.
But stocks headed lower in Europe, with EMI Group plunging 6.14 per cent to 248.25 pence on London's second tier FTSE 250 index.
Investors took flight after EMI, the world's third-biggest music company, issued a profit warning, made boardroom changes and announced cost cuts.
In Paris, Carrefour dived 5.07 per cent to 44.4 euros after the world's second largest retailer posted fourth quarter revenues well below analyst forecasts.
In New York, the Dow index closed up 0.59 per cent at a record 12,514.98 points on Thursday, breaking the prior record of 12,510.57 points set on December 27.
The Nasdaq composite meanwhile finished up a strong 1.04 per cent at 2,484.85 points on Thursday, while the broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 index gained 0.63 per cent to 1,423.82.—AFP