European shares were lower in early deals on Monday, led down by losses in SAP after a disappointing earnings update from the German software maker.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.8 per cent by 7.17am after gaining 1.2 per cent in the previous session.

SAP fell more than 2 per cent after the company warned that first-quarter results would be weaker than expected, while food company Nestle fell 3 per cent as its shares went ex-dividend.

Shares in Daily Mail & General Trust were broadly flat after the Wall Street Journal reported that the parent company of the British Daily Mail newspaper was in talks with several private equity firms about a possible bid for Yahoo.

But the Italian banking sector index was up 0.3 per cent, outperforming the broader market on hopes the Italian government will soon thrash out a plan to set up a state-backed fund to buy bad loans and plug capital shortfall.

Reuters