By Blaise Robinson
PARIS, May 5 (Reuters) - European stocks dipped in early
trade on Monday, as comments by U.S. influential investor Warren
Buffett that said the U.S. economy was in recession prompted
investors to take a breather after last week's lofty gains.
Trading volumes remained low as UK markets were closed for a
holiday.
EADS <EAD.PA> dropped 2.2 percent, the biggest laggard on
the CAC 40 <>, after German media reported that Airbus
could run into problems selling some of its factory sites and
could be forced to further delay some deliveries on its A380
superjumbo.
Deutsche Telekom <DTEGn.DE> fell 0.9 percent after Der
Spiegel magazine and other media reported the company was
looking at a possible purchase of U.S. wireless company Sprint
Nextel <S.N>.
At 0800 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,358.52 points.
The index, which got a boost on Friday from U.S. monthly
jobs data that suggested the world's largest economy was proving
more resilient than expected, gained 2.6 percent last week.
But it remains in the red on the year, down nearly 10
percent as fears of a U.S. recession and worries over the impact
of a U.S. housing slump hit equity markets around the globe in
the first quarter.
Accor <ACCP.PA> rose 3.2 percent after U.S. property company
Colony Capital and investment group Eurazeo <EURA.PA> said they
planned to raise their stake in the French hotels and services
company to around 30 percent.
Tech shares were under pressure after Microsoft <MSFT.O>
walked away from its bid for Yahoo <YHOO.O> on Saturday. The DJ
Stoxx technology index was down 1.3 percent, while Yahoo
<YHOO.O> <YHOO.F> shares traded in Frankfurt tumbled 17 percent.
Warren Buffett, the world's richest person, said on Sunday
the U.S. economy is in recession, putting him at odds with a
government report that showed weak growth.
Buffett offered his assessment during a wide-ranging news
conference a day after shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway
Inc <BRKa.N> <BRKb.N> attended the insurance and investment
company's annual meeting in Omaha.
Last Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the U.S.
economy grew at a 0.6 percent annual rate in the first quarter.
But Buffett said the nation's population also grew, making the
real growth rate lower. He also said that, even if the data do
not show the economy retracting, people feel as though it is.
But some analysts are more upbeat on the economy.
"The outlook for equity markets becomes brighter and
brighter, with two new incentives that came on Friday, one from
the U.S. job market and one from the Fed," Global Equities
analysts wrote in a note.
"The modest 20,000 decline in non-farm payroll employment in
April along with the decline in the unemployment rate to 5.0
percent from 5.1 percent suggest an upturn in the overall U.S.
economy. On the second hand, central banks have continued to
work together in order to address persistent liquidity pressures
that still prevail in the interbank money market."
Around Europe, Germany's DAX index <> was down 0.1
percent and France's CAC 40 <> down 0.3 percent.
(Editing by Quentin Bryar)
