European shares closed flat in thin trade on Monday as near-record oil prices dampened the outlook for corporate profit growth but takeover speculation boosted shares in the London Stock Exchange. Standout gainers included London-listed miner Xstrata, up 6.2 percent after it bought a near 20 percent stake in Canada's Falconbridge to add nickel to its suite of commodities. Retailer Carrefour put on 0.2 percent after a weekend press report revived speculation U.S. rival Wal-Mart may be considering a bid, despite Carrefour's denial of talks. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended steady at 1,192.5 points with 1.4 billion shares traded. Activity was muted with markets closed for Assumption Day in a number of centres, notably Italy. The FTSEurofirst index, up 14.5 percent so far this year, hit a three-year high last week on robust corporate profits and strategists said equities were supported by valuations. --More 2052 Local Time 1752 GMT
