London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares was one of the few to post a gain, but it was a mere 0.03 percent higher at 6,149.3 points.
In Paris the CAC 40 fell 1.13 percent to 5,310.07 while in Frankfurt the Dax shed 1.09 percent to close at 6,223.33 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares declined by 0.99 percent to 3,974.62 points.
The euro stood at 1.2778 dollars.
In Frankfurt, the European Central Bank held its key interest rates steady as expected on Thursday, but ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet sent a clear a signal that monetary conditions in the 12-country eurozone would be tightened again in December.
But Trichet remained evasive as to where interest rates were headed in 2007.
Meanwhile, Wall Street shares had swung lower as a weaker-than-expected survey on US manufacturing provided an excuse for traders to consolidate some of the hefty gains of the past month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off by 0.16 percent at 12,012.21 points as European markets closed, while the Nasdaq Composite had inched up by 0.03 percent to 2,335.16 points.
Standard and Poor's broad index of 500 stocks had slipped by 0.11 percent to 1,366.36 points.
In Asia, Japanese share prices posted small losses as falls to US stocks overnight prompted investors to pocket profits ahead of a long holiday weekend, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed down 0.15 percent at 16,350.02 points.
Participants were unnerved by the weak survey of US industry which raised concerns the world's biggest economy could be slowing more than expected.
Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed up 1.42 percent however at 18,714.78 points.
In London, heavyweight miners fell as worries over global growth prompted investors to cash in on recent gains.
Rio Tinto shed 1.14 percent to 2,937 pence, Xstrata offloaded 0.95 percent to 2,305 pence and BHP Billiton slid 0.97 percent to 1,026 pence.
Elsewhere, shares in the construction materials group Wolseley slipped 0.41 percent to 1,201 pence as data out of the United States on Wednesday showed the housing market continuing to struggle.
In Frankfurt meanwhile, BASF lost 1.05 percent to 67.85 euros after the world's biggest chemicals maker said that bottom-line profits declined in the third quarter as a result of one-off items and restructuring costs. Net profit declined by 24.1 percent to 613 million euros (782 million dollars) in the period from July to September, the company said.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index gave up 0.41 percent to 484.04 points, the Swiss SMI was a rare gainer, up by 0.38 percent at 8,645.72, in Milan the SPMib was down by 0.43 percent at 39,582, in Madrid the Ibex-35 fell back from its new record on Wednesday, giving up 0.39 percent to 13,719.3 and in Brussels the Bel 20 closed 0.68 percent lower at 4,137.67.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006