LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - European shares are set to open lower on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, tracking weakness in U.S. and Japanese markets as investors fret about the possibility of a deep and prolonged recession.

Financial bookmakers expected Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open down 28 to 42 points, or as much as 1 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open 35 to 43 points lower, or as much as 0.9 percent, and France's CAC-40 .FCHI to be 8 to 17 points lower in the open, or as much as 0.5 percent.

U.S. stocks sold off on Thursday in the worst two-day slide since October 1987 with disappointing corporate outlooks and bleak sales from major retailers fuelling fears of a deepening economic downturn. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average .N225 fell 3.4 percent.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 5.8 percent on Thursday. (Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Kazunori Takada)