Euro shares ended lower on Friday but U.S. data showing strong economic growth and softer inflation helped the market pare losses from car and technology stocks after disappointing earnings.

A forecast below profit rise pounded Volkswagen shares 5.4 percent lower, dragging down the sector, while a lower-than-expected profit and forecasts from tech bellwether Microsoft hit European peers such as SAP.

But pharmaceutical stocks shone for a second session as a panel of European experts backed the use of Sanofi-Aventis's anti-obesity pill Acomplia, the French group's biggest new drug hope, while GlaxoSmithKline basked in broker upgrades a day after the company's market update.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed 0.38 percent lower at 1,377.99 points, after halving losses shortly after strong U.S. economic data.

Trading volumes were sluggish ahead of the May 1 public and market holiday.

Meanwhile U.S. data showed the world's biggest economy grew at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter of the year, its strongest rate in 2-1/2 years, buoyed by a surge in spending and investment despite a background of higher energy and interest rates.

Rate-wary investors took heart from signs that this solid growth was achieved without stoking inflationary pressures.

A gauge of personal spending excluding food and energy advanced at a 2 percent rate in the first quarter, compared with 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter last year, while separate data showed U.S. employment costs had risen a smaller-than-expected 0.6 percent in the January-March period.