European stocks ended modestly lower Thursday but stayed on track for a weekly gain, as investors sifted through earnings reports and assessed the mixed tone on the path for monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its hot streak on Thursday, closing at a record for a tenth session in a row while the Nasdaq Composite logged its first back-to-back decline of the year, weighed down by big losses in Nvidia Corp.

Shares in Asia lost ground Friday as dovish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve weakened the dollar, with possible consequences for the competitiveness of Asian exports. The minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting released earlier this week suggested the next interest-rate increase would come "fairly soon." Some investors interpreted that as a dovish signal that the Fed was backing away from a rate rise in March.