European stocks fall further on China concerns

LONDON: Europe's main stock markets slid further Friday on continued concerns about the Chinese economy and a renewed bout of turbulence in emerging market currencies.
London's FTSE 100 index of top companies dropped 1.01 per cent to stand at 6,704.87 points in afternoon deals.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 index fell 1.30 per cent to 9,505.52 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index shed 1.79 percent to 4,204.53 compared with Thursday's closing levels.
Meanwhile: Asian stock markets slid Friday, extending the previous day's losses after disappointment on Wall Street over data showing the first fall in Chinese manufacturing activity in six months.
Tokyo's main shares index tumbled 1.94 per cent, Sydney fell 0.42 per cent and Seoul lost 0.36 percent.
Meanwhile: US stocks also opened lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.62 per cent to 16,097.71 points after five minutes into trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.64 per cent to 1,816.81, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.54 per cent to 4,195.95.
In foreign exchange activity, the European single currency fell to $1.3682 from $1.3695 in New York Thursday.
The British pound fell to 1.2069 euros from 1.2148 and $1.6512 from $1.6638.
A number of emerging market currencies came under renewed pressure.
The ruble hit a record low against the euro  Friday and reached its weakest point against the dollar in nearly five years amid eroding confidence in Russia's teetering economy.
The Turkish lira dived through the key barrier of 2.3 to the dollar Friday despite massive central bank intervention on foreign exchange markets the day before, hitting a new record low of 2.3360 against the greenback before recovering slightly.
In South Africa, the rand hit its weakest level in five years, breaking through the symbolic 11 rand to the dollar level, amid a new wave of strikes.
Gold prices eased to $1,259.25 an ounce from $1,263 Thursday on the London Bullion Market.