European stocks fall in subdued trade; Dax down 0.22%

European stocks were lower in subdued trade on Friday, after U.S. jobless claims data on Thursday sparked fresh uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program. 

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.65%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.22%. 

The Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, slightly higher than forecasts for 330,000. 

The data came a day after the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed that officials were "broadly comfortable" with plans to start unwinding the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.

However, officials remain divided over the timing of possible reduction, with almost all committee members agreeing that a change in the asset purchase program was not yet appropriate. 

Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slid 0.32% and 0.48%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank added 0.24%. 

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank Banco Santander eased 0.09% and BBVA edged up 0.13%, while in Italy, Unicredit rose 0.35% and Intesa Sanpaolo dropped 0.51%. 

Elsewhere, Dutch lender ING Groep rallied 1.04% after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the shares to overweight from equal weight. 

In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.17%, weighed by losses in financial stocks. 

HSBC Holdings lost 0.27% and Barclays retreated 0.71%, while Lloyds Banking plummeted 1%. The Royal Bank of Scotland overperformed on the other hand, rallying 1.66%. 

Mining stocks were also on the downside, as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton declined 0.16% and 0.80% respectively, while Glencore Xstrata and Polymetal shed 0.56% and 1.53%. 

On the upside, Croda shares surged 2.38% after Deutsche Bank raised its recommendation on the world’s second-biggest maker of cosmetic ingredients to buy from hold. 

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% slip. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales.