Europe's main stock markets retreated at the start of trading, with London's FTSE 100 index of top companies dropping 0.23 per cent to stand at 6,855.35 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 dipped 0.12 per cent to 9,926.73 points and the CAC 40 in Paris sank 0.44 per cent to 4,510.40 points, compared with Thursday's closing level.
In Paris, shares in BNP Paribas bank plunged 5.89 per cent to 49.55 euros in response to a Wall Street Journal report that US justice authorities may impose a fine of more than $US10 billion ($A10.82 billion) on the bank on charges that it violated sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba.
This is far more than the bank has provisioned to settle the dispute, in the hope that it can retain its US banking licence.
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