Europe's markets dip following Asia over worrying US corporate news

London: Europe's stock markets are trading lower following losses in Asia, amid mounting concerns about the world economy following downbeat corporate news in the US.

In midday trading, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares is down 70.43 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 4,333.49, while Germany's DAX is 101.08 points, or 2.0 per cent, lower at 4,924,45.

France's CAC-40 index has dropped 67.87 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 3,437.88.

Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped 272.13 points, or 3 percent, to 8,809.30, while the Hang Seng benchmark in Hong Kong lost 703.73 points, or 4.8 per cent, to 14,040.90.

In Russia trading was halted on the ruble-denominated MICEX for an hour in morning trading. By mid-afternoon the MICEX and the dollar-denominated RTS were both down around 9 per cent.