FTSE 100 down 0.15%; DAX down 0.14%; CAC 40 down 0.18% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 02 Sep - European shares trimmed earlier loses and were slightly lower at mid-session on the first trading day in September.

Investors remained on the sidelines as they looked for fresh direction, with the Stoxx 600 index down 0.30%.

Caution prevailed as the US markets are closed today for the Labor Day public holiday.

Traders digested data showing that eurozone factories remained stuck in a rut last month.

In August the eurozone's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector stood at 45.8, unchanged compared to July, according to final data released by S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The preliminary reading was 45.6. The manufacturing output index was also at 45.8, up from 45.6 in the previous month, a two-month high. The preliminary reading was 45.7.

Data showed on Friday that eurozone inflation dropped to a three-year low of 2.2% in August, according to statistics agency Eurostat, in line with forecasts.

The reading boosted expectations for a September rate cut from the European Central Bank.

In the US, data released last week showed the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, was in line with estimates from economists polled by Dow Jones, rising 0.2% on a monthly basis in July and 2.5% from a year ago.

At 1125 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was was down 0.15% at 8,364 points, the Frankfurt DAX was down 0.14% at 18,881 points, the Paris CAC 40 down 0.18% at 7,616 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was down 0.14% at 34,323 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was down 0.13% at 11,387 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 02-09-24 13:41:17 (0291) 5 NNNN