Morning Bid Europe-Chipped away

• U.S. import prices, industrial production and housing data
• Company earnings including Swedbank, Danske Bank, Sweco, Volvo, Burberry Group
• Reopening of 1-month, 3-month and 6-month UK government debt auctions

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump declassified intelligence on Thursday that he maintained showed Chinese interference in U.S. elections, reviving his long-running attacks on election security despite a U.S. intelligence assessment that found no evidence Beijing affected the 2020 vote that he lost.

Markets appeared to brush off his accusations, but Trump's harsh language about China risks rocking a relationship that has steadied following last year's costly trade war.

Trump hopes to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in September about improving trade relations.

Fighting in the Middle East continued, as Iran said it launched fresh attacks on U.S. facilities in the Gulf on Friday after a sixth consecutive night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military facilities.

Over in China, the country's foreign exchange regulator said on Friday it is allocating fresh quotas for qualified institutional investors' overseas investments, following a recent crackdown on illegal cross-border capital flows.

The global chip rout extended into Friday, with stocks in Taiwan and Japan bearing the brunt of the beating, while South Korean shares were spared as markets there were closed for a holiday.

Even higher-than-expected 77% earnings growth from TSMC the previous day failed to impress investors, as shares of the Taiwanese chip manufacturing giant sank 4%.