U.S. stock market indexes fell sharply in Friday's trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nine-tenths of a percent to close at 11,937. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2 percent to hit 1,269, while the NASDAQ lost 1.3 percent to end at 2,653.

European stock markets were mixed at the close of trading. London's Financial Times 100 index advanced four-tenths of a percent to end at 5,698. The CAC-40 in Paris slid one-tenth of a percent to reach 3,785 and the DAX in Frankfurt rose four-tenths of a percent to close at 7,121.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained nine-tenths of a percent , to close at 9,679. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.9 percent , to end at 22,172.

The price of gold fell $21 to trade at $1,500.40 an ounce.

The dollar was lower against the yen but made gains compared to the euro.