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European stocks drop at end of turbulent week

London - European stock indices fell slightly on Friday at the end of a turbulent week for equities and other financial markets triggered by concerns over the Chinese and Greek economies.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.03% to stand at 6 566.38 points around midday in the capital.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 slipped 0.17% to 10 996.05 points and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.31% to 4 971.62 compared with Thursday's close.

Greek lawmakers finally voted through the country's third international bailout early Friday after a bitter all-night debate, just hours before European finance ministers were due to meet to approve the deal with Germany digging in its heels.

The vote gave no boost to Athens' main stocks index which slumped Friday 2.49% to 669.56 points.

"On a day when market attention is focused on events in Brussels, it's been a tough week for financial markets with significant losses across the board, as a result of uncertainty about the health of the Chinese economy," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at traders CMC Markets UK.

Official eurozone data Friday showed that growth in the 19-nation single-currency bloc slowed slightly in the second quarter to 0.3%, coming in at the bottom end of analyst forecasts.

"A swathe of disappointing GDP figures from across the eurozone... merely served to compound the current lack of appetite for risk," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

Over the past week, the DAX has lost nearly 3.0%, while London and Paris were down about 2.0%.

In foreign exchange on Friday, the euro fell to $1.1144 from $1.1152 late in New York on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Asian stock markets mainly fell on Friday, weighed down by jitters over the impact of China's yuan devaluation.

Faced with market concerns, China's central bank raised the value of the yuan against the dollar by 0.05%.

The higher fixing came after the People's Bank of China reassured financial markets by pledging to seek a stable currency after a shock devaluation of nearly 2% on Tuesday.

That cut, and two subsequent reductions. sent global financial markets into a tailspin as it raised questions over the health of the world's second-largest economy and sparked fears of a possible currency war.

"It's quite likely we will see additional stimulus from Beijing," said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group.

"The ripple effects of the move and the stronger dollar as a side effect have made their mark on other emerging market currencies with the likes of the Malaysian ringgit plunging," she added in a note to clients.

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