European stock markets fell victim to profit taking on Friday, tracking Wall Street lower on questions about the sustainability of a US rebound from recession reported a day earlier.

Asian exchanges by contrast ended the day in positive territory, still drawing a boost from the strong US data published on Thursday.

The London FTSE 100 index shed 1.81 percent to end the week at 5044.55 points while in Paris the CAC 40 fell 2.86 percent to close at 3607.69. The Frankfurt DAX lost 3.09 percent to end the session at 5414.96.

Elsewhere there were declines of 3.13 percent in Milan, 2.30 percent in Madrid, 1.96 percent in Brussels and 1.03 percent on the Swiss Market Index.

Analysts pointed to uncertainty as to whether the positive US performance in the third quarter could be sustained, a sentiment reinforced by a government report Friday that US consumer spending, a critical growth driver, fell for the first time in five months in September.

"Better than expected and a broadly (government-sponsored) based rebound in US third-quarter GDP data were greeted with a relief rally in risk assets, but we are reserving judgement on the sustainability of the bounce or whether this is an opportunity to sell," said economist Kenneth Broux of Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets.

"We have pointed out how the early data points for October have disappointed and testify to a more sombre mood among US households, risking deflating output in the fourth quarter."

US stocks sank Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.32 percent at 9731.17 at mid-day. The Nasdaq had fallen 2.09 percent to 2053.67.

"Traders may be booking some profits as they look for the next catalyst to emerge to signal that the recent surge in the equity markets was warranted by underlying fundamental economic data," Charles Schwab & Company analysts said in a client note.

Many analysts noted that the 3.5 percent growth expansion in the third quarter was mainly due to exceptional government measures to stimulate growth that would eventually expire.

"Stimulus efforts helped turn the economy around in the third quarter. Once the cosmetics are taken away, though, will things look as pretty? Probably not," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

In Paris economist Yves Marcais at Global Equities said suspicions about the soundness of the US emergence from recession likewise weighed on sentiment.

He said there had been "lots of questions on (US) GDP and on the stabilisation of the US economy."

Some of the sharpest falls in Paris were in the construction sector, with Bouygues losing 6.13 percent, Lafarge 4.40 percent and Vinci 3.64 percent.

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent plunged 10.61 percent after announcing worse than expected sales figures for the third quarter.

In London mining issues were hard hit. Rio Tinto closed with a loss of 3.34 percent while BHP Billiton gave up 4.45 percent.

Among the day's winners was advertising giant WPP, which gained 0.64 percent after revealing that it had reduced its workforce by 10 percent between the end of December last year and September 2009.

On the DAX in Frankfurt banks were under pressure, with Deutsche Bank shedding 4.04 percent and Commerzbank 3.60 percent.

Asian stocks were supported after Japan released upbeat figures, lifting hopes for a recovery in global economies.

Tokyo won 1.45 percent, Hong Kong soared 2.29 percent and Sydney jumped 1.5 percent.