European shares inched lower on Thursday, as weaker food and media stocks offset gains by retailers, while a dip on Wall Street added to the negative tone, according to Reuters. Corporate earnings dominated, with Reuters Group, Nestle and Centrica among the biggest losers as their outlooks disappointed investors. Thomson jumped as its core earnings beat forecasts, however. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed unofficially down 0.2 percent at 1,355.75 points, but the market continues to trade just shy of its highest level since August 2001. "The market expects 10 percent earnings growth for this year in Europe and I don't think it's excessive. The risk is low," said Guillaume Duchesne, equity strategist at Fortis Private Banking. "We are now at fair value." Shares in Reuters, the news and information provider, fell 11.5 percent. Citigroup analysts said in a note to clients that the company's results were disappointing both in terms of numbers and outlook. --More 21 04 Local Time 18 04 GMT
