European shares edge lower, BHP Billiton slips

London - European shares edged down in early trading on Monday, with BHP Billiton leading the market lower after a cautious debut for its spin-off South32 and Austrian energy group OMV falling after a drop in profits.

BHP Billiton's shares fell 5% after its spin-off South32 started trading with a market value of nearly $9bn on Monday, a third below the top end of forecasts and underlining investor nerves about the outlook for the battered mining sector.

OMV shares fell 1.8% after its first-quarter underlying operating profit fell by half to €333m as oil prices dropped, beating market expectations.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.1% at 1 571.25 points by 07:14 GMT.

Italy's FTSE MIB index fell more than 1% as several companies in the index traded without the attraction of their latest dividend payouts.