[R]9:30AM The FTSE 100 sinks on Friday as profit-taking seized the market.[/R]
In afternoon trading on Friday, the FTSE 100 declined 0.86% at 6,088.

Decliners

Exposed to the US markets companies were suffered including fund manager Amvescap, down 3.11%, credit checking firm Experian, declining 2.45% and plumbing supplies group Wolseley, shedding 1.21%. Life insurers Prudential and Old Mutual were also stuck well in the red. Prudential was off 2.45% and Old Mutual lost 2.73%.

Banks extended recent losses as the interest rate outlook remained unclear. Barclays shed 1.4%, Lloyds TSB fell 1.3% and Alliance & Leicester was down 1%.

Airlines shrugged off a report that Gordon Brown will raise taxes on air travel to combat environmental damage. Easyjet sank 0.35% though despite investors focusing on the weak crude price.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Kingfisher to sell from hold ahead of third quarter figures due next week. The broker remains cautious, saying the figures could lead to lower estimates on the DIY retailer. Kingfisher declined 2.14%.

Finnish biotech Inion slumped after it warned sales would be well below forecasts. That warning comes just seven weeks after it said there was no reason for its recent share price decline. Shares of Inion plunged 6.80%.

Advancers

Contrary to Easyjet, BA held steady and gained 0.92%. Cairn Energy shares continued to make gains on the back of Thursday successful Cairn India share placement. Shares in the oil explorer rose 1.3%.

Other news

A surge in business investment helped the UK economy grow above its long term trend in the third quarter, figures released on Friday confirmed. The news means that Gordon Brown is likely to revise higher his original forecast of growth for the year of 2 - 2.5% when he presents his pre-Budget report on December 6.


[R]8:00AM Stock futures declined on sharply weaker dollar.[/R]
U.S. stock market futures indicated a sharply lower market opening on Friday for a shortened trading day. The U.S. stock market was closed on Thursday and will close at 1 p.m. on Friday. The declines tracked weakness in Asian and European stock markets. What hurt pre-market sentiment wad a plunge of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies, with the euro climbing above $1.30 after economic data showed strong business confidence in Germany.

Shares of U.S. retailers were also in focus with the approaching holiday shopping season, and consumers seeking bargains on the day after Thanksgiving. Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT: chart) fell nearly 1% in European trading, while shares of Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD: chart) dipped 0.2% as investors sought to gauge the impact of early holiday store traffic and price discounts on retailers'' profits. Pharmaceutical wholesaler McKesson Corp. said it renewed its supply agreement with Wal-Mart Stores and will remain the primary supplier of branded pharmaceutical products for Wal-Mart stores across the US.

Advanced Semi (ASX: chart) said it received an indication of interest from investors led by The Carlyle Group that would value the company at $5.5 billion. Standard & Poor''s 500 futures were down 6.6 points, below fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 44 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 13 points.


[R]7:30AM Asian markets end mostly lower Friday, Japan weighs the markets down.[/R]
Asian markets finished mostly lower on Friday. Japanese Nikkei 225-stock index ended down 1.1% at 15,734.60. In the autos sector, shares of Toyota fell 1.7%. Shares in electronics giant Sony fell 1.9%. Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group tumbled 4.2% and fellow lender Resona Holdings fell 3.1%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong ended fractionally lower, declining 5.02 points to 19,260.30. The China Enterprises Index, a yardstick of China-incorporated shares listed in Hong Kong, declined 0.4% to 8,591.09. Among mainland property stocks, China Overseas Land rose 2.2% while China Resources Land rose 2.5%. Chinese financials traded lower with state-owned lender China Construction Bank down 1.2% while Bank of Communications fell 1%.

Kospi in South Korea rose 0.2% and Malaysia KLSE Composite traded gained 1.3%. Taiwan Weighted Price Index rose 0.6%, advancing for the ninth consecutive session. On other markets across Asia, S&P ASX/200 in Australia lost 0.2% to end at 5,453.60. Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.5% and New Zealand NZX-50 Index shed 0.2%.