Markets Update: Europe Stocks Down, Asian Stocks Mixed On Weak Global Cues

Asian markets were mixed Friday, tracking a negative close of the U.S. market on Thursday. European stocks were down during morning trade after the dollar index touched a one-week high and disappointing earnings from U.S. blue chip companies sapped investors' risk appetite.

European markets were trading lower Friday, with shares in London off the most. London's FTSE 100 index was down 0.68 percent, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.30 percent and Germany's DAX was lower by 0.19 percent. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was trading down 0.27 percent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.20 percent after a Bloomberg report suggested that the Bank of Japan was considering helping banks by applying negative rates to its lending program for financial institutions.

China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 0.22 percent while China’s Nasdaq-style ChiNext Index gained 1.27 percent.

Other major bourses in Asia closed the day in the red, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index down 0.72 percent, India’s benchmark S&P BSE Sensex down 0.16 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index down 0.33 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also fell 0.70 percent.

In the U.S., stock futures were mixed, with S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures up 0.12 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively, while Nasdaq futures were trading slightly down at 0.09 percent.