Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets take breather at end of turbulent week

European equities and the Dow Jones index in New York all slipped into negative territory, with investors in no mood to test recent highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index, however, outperformed thanks to positive sentiment in the key tech sector.

Taiwan vowed to remain the world's "most important" maker of chips for artificial intelligence after reaching a trade deal with the United States that will reduce tariffs on the island's shipments and increase Taiwanese investment on US soil.

It comes one day after Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC posted a jump in profits, bolstering confidence that massive AI investments will pay off.

"The surge in demand for AI products manufactured by TSMC has pricked up the ears of the US administration," said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

"The AI juggernaut clearly has further to run, with demand for AI chips seemingly insatiable for now," she added.

On Thursday, Wall Street's tech-rich Nasdaq index had already piled on more than one percent early in the session thanks to gains among leading chip companies.

But later in the day there was "kind of a roll-back in the megacap stock and semiconductors", said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

In commodities trading, oil prices rebounded after shedding five percent Thursday as US President Donald Trump appeared to step back from military action against Iran, a major producer of crude oil.

- Key figures at around 1450 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 49,399 points

New York - S&P 500 : UP 0.2 percent at 6,956.51

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 23,622.11

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,223.15

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 25,358.97

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 8,237.31

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 53,936.17 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 26,844.96 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,101.91 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1618 from $1.1605 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3400 from $1.3377

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.99 yen from 158.63 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN 86.72 from 86.75 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.0 percent at $64.37 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $59.65 per barrel

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J.AbuHassan--SF-PST