European shares slip back in cautious start to Dec

European shares slipped in early trade on Thursday, giving back a little of the strong gains in the previous session and as the market seeks further guidance from policymakers about their plans to help end the region's debt crisis.
At 0806 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3% at 978.77 points, after rising 3.6% in the previous session, when central banks acted jointly to provide cheaper dollar liquidity to starved European banks and China reduced the reserve rate requirement for commercial lenders.
"There's relief with the coordinated bank action, but people are now asking why have they done it. You can trade into it, but you will probably sell out of it," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.
"That sort of enthusiasm just shows how much pent-up frustration there is. There's a huge amount of value there, if you're a bit more confident. But we would also have to see a follow-through (action on the euro zone debt crisis) at the EU meeting next week."
The auto sector was among those falling after a surge on Wednesday. The STOXX Europe 600 Autos Index fell 0.8%.