Tech-heavy stock markets were heading for their biggest weekly fall in seven months, as investors fretted over the sustainability of a rally in artificial intelligence stocks.

Weaker-than-expected China trade data on Friday also showed how hard US President Donald Trump's tariffs have hit.

The STOXX benchmark of 600 big European companies edged down 0.17 per cent in early trading Friday morning, even as US markets looked set for a brighter open with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.3 per cent following a 1.9 per cent drop for the Nasdaq on Thursday.

For the week so far, the world's biggest tech index is down 2.8 per cent, which if sustained would mark its largest one-week drop since April, when tariffs were announced. The Nasdaq has gained more than 50 per cent since then.

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