LONDON — Europe's main stock markets sagged on Friday as news of upbeat German business confidence was offset by lingering concerns about a global economic slowdown. London's FTSE 100 index of top shares eased 0.20 percent to 5,536.04 points in midday trade. Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 0.21 percent to 6,171.25 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index also shed 0.21 percent to 3,703.04 points. The Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone companies was down 0.26 percent to 2,731.47 points. "The FTSE is failing to find any real direction," noted Ben Critchley, a trader at IG Index. "There is however a lot of negative sentiment amongst the miners with a series of broker downgrades pushing the sector lower." In foreign exchange deals, the euro rose against the dollar, helping gold to record highs, after a surprise gain in German business confidence, while traders wondered if Japan had intervened to cool the yen. The European single currency rose to 1.3382 dollars from 1.3312 dollars late on Thursday in New York. Banks were in focus in London after news that the British government's Independent Commission on Banking will consider whether to break them up to increase competition and help prevent another financial meltdown. At the same time, reports emerged on Friday that HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan will step down at the end of the year as part of a major shake-up of the bank's top management. HSBC could not be contacted immediately for comment. "The banks are holding up well -- despite the threat of more sabre rattling from regulators whilst HSBC is even managing to add a few points despite the prospect of change in senior management," Critchley noted. "It's certainly been a choppy week for equity markets but the prospect of a double dip (recession) is looming yet again." He cautioned that "US durable goods order readings (due later Friday) could easily inject another wave of pessimism should the number fall short of expectations." Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday as a series of poor data out of Europe and the United States raised concerns over the global recovery. The yen briefly slumped in Tokyo afternoon trade, prompting speculation that the government had stepped into the foreign exchange markets to sell the unit for a second time in a matter of weeks. But the currency, which shed one yen against the dollar, soon clawed back most of its losses as the government's refusal to confirm its intervention led traders to suggest the big movements were caused by heavy selling by banks. Tokyo's Nikkei stock index ended 0.99 percent lower at 9,471.67 points. "The price action is very specific and strange" while no intervention has been seen directly, Minoru Shioiri, chief manager of FX trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, said of Friday's yen movement. Investors were given a weak lead from Wall Street where the Dow fell 0.72 percent on Thursday after the release of data showing the US jobs market was still in a bad state. The Labor Department said the number of Americans asking for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, ending a four-week decline. Claims for the week to September 18 hit 465,000, worse than most forecasts of 450,000 new claims.

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