LONDON (AP) -- European stock markets were lower Thursday following hefty losses in Asia earlier and an expected further retreat on Wall Street as spreading pessimism over corporate earnings reinforced concerns about the world economy.Britain's FTSE 100 index of leading shares was down 83.60 points, or 2.1 percent, at 3,957.29, while Germany's DAX was down 171.94 points, or 3.8 percent, at 4,399.13. The CAC-40 in France was 86.88 points, or 2.6 percent, lower at 3,211.30.
Europe's indexes could have been harder hit but for a late recovery in Asia, which helped the major indexes pare back a large chunk of their earlier losses.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 7 percent at the open to a five-year low but recovered to close down 2.5 percent at 8,460.98, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 4.7 percent at 13,603, but had fallen more than 6 percent earlier.
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