BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- World major stock markets ended mixed on Thursday and Friday as unease about global economy spread from Europe to Asia and triggered further loses on the Wall Street.

    In the United States, The New York Stock Exchanges closed modestly lower on Thursday after a sharp plunge in the early trading.

    "The Dow plunged by 209 points in the first 10 minutes on worries that a rise in the value of the Japanese yen could lead toa contraction in global trading liquidity," said Al Goldman, a chief market strategist at AG Edwards.

    "An unexpected rise in U.S. factory activity in February gave the dollar a boost a half hour after the open, and helped the major averages begin their comeback," Goldman said.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.29, or 0.28 percent, to 12,234.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.65, or 0.26 percent, to 1, 403.17, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index finished down 11.94, or 0.49 percent, at 2,404.21.     

    At the close in Europe, the London FTSE 100 declined 0.9 percent to 6,116 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 fell 1.05 percent to 5,458.40 points, and in Frankfurt the 30-share DAX Index was down 75.20 points to 6,640.24 points.

    "There continues to be a lot of nervousness around the stock market," London-based Barclays Stockbrokers analyst Henk Potts said.

    "There is a big debate going on about how quickly the U.S. economy is slowing down," Potts said, adding that investors still worried about the stock market slump in Asia.

    However, leading European stock markets rallied in early trading on Friday.

    In London, the FTSE 100 index of top shares advanced by 35.30 points to 6,151.30 points, while in Frankfurt the 30-share DAX Index was up 34.26 points to 6, 674.26 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index rose by 0.37 percent to 5,478.75 points.

    In Asia, Tokyo stocks continued to lose ground for a fourth consecutive day on Friday.

    The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average shed 235.58 points, or 1.35 percent, to end at 17,217.93. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 18.52 points, or 1.06 percent, to 1, 721.59.

    "Fears over the possible slowdown of the U.S. economy and the rising yen continued to weigh on the market," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of the equity marketing department of Daiwa Securities SMBC Co.

    Export-led blue chips such as Toyota Motor, Canon and Sony were hit hard by the stronger yen. Other major decliners included communications, marine transport and electrical shares.

    Hong Kong blue chips halted a five-session losing streak on Friday to gain 0.5 percent. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 95.41 points to 19,442.01.

    "The market saw quite strong buying interest after five consecutive days of sharp falls, but some quick profit-taking was seen in late trade on caution ahead of major companies' results next week," said Jackson Wong, investment manager at Tanrich Securities.

    The benchmark Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 2,831.53 points on Friday, up 34.34 points from the previous close.

    Chinese shares slumped sharply on profit-taking on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite Index plunged 8.84 percent to close at 2,771.79 points, the biggest daily dive since Feb. 18 in 1997 when the index dropped 8.91 percent.