Air France-KLM CEO Alexandre de Juniac (left) and Frederic Gagey, chairman and CEO Air France, attend a news conference in Paris. Shares in Air France-KLM caught an updraft, rising 0.59% to €6.63, after it announced it would add a further €300mn to a previously announced €1.5bn cost-cutting programme as it revealed first-half losses of €619mn.

AFP/London

European stocks fell yesterday as poor data out of China sent a chill through markets about the prospects of a global economic recovery.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies shed 1.13% to end the day at 6,579.81 points, the CAC 40 in Paris retreated 0.58% to 5,057.36 points, and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 fell 1.43% to 11,347.45 points.
In foreign exchange, the euro slipped to $1.0967 from $1.0985 late in New York on Thursday.
“European markets were under pressure on Friday after manufacturing data in China, France and Germany dented hopes of a recovery in global growth,” said CMC Markets UK analyst Jasper Lawler.
A key gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity tumbled to a 15-month low in July, throwing a pall over growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
That hit prices of many commodities which are used in manufacturing.
“The issue of falling commodities has replaced Greece and Chinese equity volatility as the centrepiece of the capital markets,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at traders IG.
The Chinese data also weighed on the mining sector but this was offset by news of heavy job cuts from Anglo American, with investors cheering the cost cutting measures.
Anglo American reported heavy first half losses and announced staff numbers would drop by 6,000, with the global mining firm hit by the weakness of iron ore prices.
Its shares rose had risen over 2% at one point in the day, but they finished with a loss of 3.52% to 778 pence.
Shares in Lonmin tanked over 17% to 62.35 pence after the world’s third- largest platinum producer said it was set to cut 6,000 jobs in South Africa owing to falling prices and high costs, dealing another blow to the country’s fragile economy.
Shares in other miners were hit: copper specialist Antofagasta fell 6.3% to 589 pence, while diversified companies Glencore dropped 4.5% to 210.15 pence and BHP Billiton shed 3.8% to 1,123 pence and BHP Billiton lost 3.5% to 2,400.5 pence.
Shares in Air France-KLM caught an updraft, rising 0.59% to €6.63, after it announced it would add a further €300mn  to a previously announced €1.5bn cost-cutting programme as it revealed first-half losses of €619mn.
In midday trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed to 17,637.55 points, while the broad-based S&P 500 gave up 0.47% to 2,092.33. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.22% at 5,134.92 points.
Amazon shares jumped 15.2% to $555.32 on the online retail giant’s unexpected swing into profit in the second quarter.