European stock markets were flat in midday trading Friday.

London's Financial Times 100 index was nearly unchanged , to 5,850. The CAC-40 in Paris was down slightly , to 3,888. And the DAX in Frankfurt was up a quarter of a percent , at 7,092.

The S&P futures contract was down six points, indicating a lower opening for U.S. markets.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost two-thirds of a percent , to close at 9,492.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.31 percent , to end at 22,950.

Gold was trading at $1,526.20 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar was unchanged against other major currencies.