European equities sink at open on Turkey fears

Europe's stock markets sank in opening deals on Friday, as investors fretted over the region's exposure to Turkey's currency crisis and eyed the ongoing China-US trade row.

In initial deals, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip companies declined 0.4% to 7 708.46 points compared with the closing level on Thursday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.8% to 12 574.20 points and the Paris CAC 40 also lost 0.8% to 5 455.96.

"For some time now investors have been looking at the unfolding currency crisis in Turkey as a local difficulty," noted CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson.

"However, the accelerating speed of the declines appears to be raising concerns about European banks' exposure to the Turkish banking system."

Turkey's embattled lira on Friday hit new record lows against the US dollar, losing some five percent in value as strains with the United States showed no sign of easing.