World Stocks Modestly Lower

Updated from March 15

World stocks endured a modest decline Friday, putting a bit of pressure on U.S. markets ahead of the open.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei dropped 116 to 16,744, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 16 to 18,954 and Bombay's Sensex lost 113 to 12,430.

In Europe, the U.K. FTSE was off 22 points at 6111, the German Dax was down 33 to 6553 and the French Cac was down 28 to 5362.

Stock futures in the U.S. were pointing to a slight drop at the open.