LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - European equity markets eased on Friday, weighed down by a fresh batch of gloomy corporate outlooks as demand for everything from cars to building materials is crippled by the euro zone economic crisis.
Results from global giants Apple and Amazon undershot expectations overnight, while in Europe, Renault, Saint Gobain, Gucci and Publicis weighed in with gloomy earnings and outlooks.
So far, 40 percent of European companies have missed third-quarter profit expectations, compared to around 30 percent in the United States, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data.
``The outlook is the basic problem, not so much the current figures, but the uncertainty over the outlook. That is adding pressure to the market right now,'' said Oliver Roth, head trader at Close Brothers Seydler.
The FTSEurofirst 300 was down 0.5 percent at 1,090.41 points by 0701 GMT, taking its losses for the week so far to 1.9 percent.