Paris - European shares inched lower in early trading on Monday, taking a breather after the previous session's sharp rally sparked by dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and a surprise interest rate cut in China.
At 10:05 SA time, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 1 384.15 points, after surging 2.1 percent on Friday.
On the M&A front, shares in British insurer Aviva fell 2.9 percent after it agreed terms on a possible deal to buy rival Friends Life for 5.6 billion pounds (R97 billion).
Friends Life shares rose 5.1 percent. - Reuters