U.S. stock indexes advanced in early trading Friday, edging higher after Thursday's steep declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up half a percentage point. The broader S & P 500 index is ahead four-tenths of a percent with the NASDAQ up a tenth of a percent.

European stock markets fell in afternoon trading.

London's Financial Times 100 index and the DAX in Frankfurt are both down 2.1 percent, while the CAC-40 in Paris is off four-tenths of a percent.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index dropped 3.7 percent , to close at 9,300.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 4.3 percent , to end at 20,946.

Gold was trading up $11.95 at $1,658.48 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar fell against both the euro and yen.