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European shares fall after soft data

Paris - European shares fell early on Monday, trimming some of the previous session's sharp gains after soft macro data from China and Japan.

At 11:00 the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3% at 1 401.34 points, having surged 1.8% on Friday after much better than expected US monthly jobs data.

Also weighing on sentiment on Monday was S&P's Friday cut to Italy's sovereign credit rating from BBB to BBB-, only one notch above junk, citing weak growth and poor competitiveness that undermine the sustainability of its huge public debt.

"The euphoria from Friday's US payrolls is dissipating; we're seeing a bit of profit-taking," Saxo Bank trader Pierre Martin said.

"Italy's downgrade is a good reminder that Europe is far from being out of the woods. Even if the ECB is pro-active, there are a lot of issues still to be resolved."

Shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Mediobanca lost 0.4%.

China's exports rose 4.7% in November from a year earlier, while imports dropped 6.7%, well below expectations and adding to concerns that the world's second-largest economy could be facing a sharper slowdown.

Japan's economy shrank more than initially reported in the third quarter on declines in business investment.

Energy shares fell again as Brent dropped to below $69 a barrel after Morgan Stanley cut its forecast for crude and the market received little support from China's trade data.

ENI was down 1.4% and Royal Dutch Shell slipped by 0.9%.

Seadrill bucked the trend, rising 6.4% after the company's chairperson and largest shareholder, billionaire investor John Fredriksen, increased his stake in the group to 23.9%.

The recent drop in crude prices has forced a number of oil services companies, including Seadrill, to scrap dividends as oil majors accelerate cost-cutting efforts.

The STOXX oil and gas index has tumbled about 23% since June, wiping roughly $240bn off market capitalisation, more than the entire market value of Shell, Europe's biggest oil major, Thomson Reuters data shows.


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