Global stocks limp towards end of bruising week

Global stock markets slid again on Friday, with European indices on course for their biggest weekly falls of the year, as share prices were battered by fallout from global economic strains.

In Europe, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index lost 1.52 percent to stand at 6,270.94 points in mid-afternoon deals.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 1.38 percent to stand at 10,288.24 points, having opened down almost two percent.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 1.68 percent to 4,703.29 compared with Thursday's close.

The FTSE is down almost six percent over the week, the DAX has tumbled more than eight percent in value and the CAC has lost almost seven percent.

Asian stock markets took a heavy knock Friday after weak manufacturing data from China added to fears about the health of the world economy.

Shanghai shares closed down 4.27 percent at 3,507.74 points, ending their worst week since 2011 as worries over the flagging Chinese economy and the possibility of weaker government support weighed on sentiment.

Hong Kong fell 1.53 percent to finish the day at 22,409.62 points -- its lowest point since May 2014. Tokyo shares fell 2.98 percent to 19,435.83, a more than three-month low, down 5.28 percent on the week.

"With more Chinese-led carnage on the markets today only the very brave are venturing in to equities as buying stocks is currently like catching falling knives," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor.

- Euro lift -

US shares headed sharply lower for a third day in opening trade Friday with China's economic troubles fuelling another day of another day of equity sell-offs.

Minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both down nearly 1.0 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4 percent

The dollar meanwhile slipped against the euro after the US Federal Reserve earlier this week dampened expectations of a US interest rate rise next month.

"When stock markets fail to rally in the wake of a dovish Fed then you know you're in trouble, and as if to reinforce this European stocks look set to post their worst weekly fall this year," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said on Friday.

The euro jumped to $1.1298 from $1.1141 late on Thursday in New York.

The European single currency was higher despite renewed unrest in Greece, where Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced his resignation on Thursday and called for snap elections.

Tsipras went on the offensive to defend the country's massive bailout after it triggered a rebellion within his own hard-left party.

A leader who remains popular with the electorate, Tsipras had been widely expected to call polls in a bid to regain office with a stronger hand.

"Having secured... funding to help pay the ECB yesterday and also help recapitalise the banks the path now remains clear for the still fairly popular Greek prime minister to refresh his mandate," Hewson added.

Tsipras' announcement came on the same day the debt-crippled country received its first 13 billion euros ($14.7 billion) in bailout cash, effectively starting the mammoth rescue package agreed to last month, worth around 86 billion euros over the next three years.

The money arrived just in time to allow the Greek government to make a key debt repayment of 3.4 billion euros to the European Central Bank

Athens' main stocks index sank 2.53 percent to 635.07 points in afternoon trading.

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