• European stocks cratered on Thursday, amid fears of slowing growth, falling oil prices and a fresh flare-up in tensions between the world's two largest economies.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell more than 3.3 percent with all and major bourses sectors in negative territory. The index clsoed at 342 points, marking a two year low. It was the worst daily percentage drop for the STOXX 600 since Brexit.

Germany's Dax market, when measured on an intra-day basis has closed in bear market territory. 21 percent lower than its high in late January.

• Market focus is largely attuned to the arrest of a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, amid investor concern that the news could derail progress in U.S.-Sino trade talks.

Europe's basic resources stocks — with their heavy exposure to China — tumbled 4.2 percent during the session. Britain's FTSE 100 index slumped 3.6percent Thursday, as mining stocks plummeted. London-listed Antofagasta led the sectoral losses, down more than 7 percent.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 79.40 points lower at 24,947.67 after plunging nearly 800 points, while the S&P 500 closed 0.15 percent lower at 2,695.95. The Nasdaq Composite erased its losses, closing 0.4 percent higher at 7,188.26 as Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all rose more than 1 percent.

Stocks initially fell sharply as continuing fears over U.S.-China trade relations and concern over a possible economic slowdown kept investors on edge.

Stocks closed well off their session lows on Thursday after news broke that the Federal Reserve could tighten monetary policy at a slower pace than previously expected.

• The Wall Street Journal reported the central bank is considering whether to signal a wait-and-see approach to rate hikes at its upcoming meeting this month. The report said Fed officials do not know what their next move on rates will be after December.

• Shares in Asia traded higher on Friday morning on the back of a report suggesting the U.S. Federal Reserve could consider a slower tempo of increasing interest rates than had been previously expected.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.82 percent in early trade while the Topix index gained 0.66 percent. Shares of Softbank, which were hit hard in the previous trading day, advanced more than 1.6 percent. Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.69 percent, with shares of chipmaker SK Hynix rising 1.21 percent.

The ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.76 percent in morning trade, with all sectors in positive territory. That was a rebound from Thursday, when the index saw declines amid a broader sell-off across the Asia Pacific region.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC