Europe shares steady at open

European shares were steady in early trading on Thursday, halting the previous session's rebound, while Hennes & Mauritz lost ground after saying sales had slowed in September. At 0703 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.02 per cent at 1,386.10 points, after gaining 0.8 per cent on Wednesday. H&M, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, reported in-line quarterly profits but added that sales had slowed in September, causing shares in the company to fall by around 3 per cent, according to Reuters.