Qa'dah 9, 1435, Sep 4, 2014, SPA -- European shares dipped in early trading on Thursday, taking a breather from the previous session's sharp gains, as investors waited to see whether the European Central Bank will unveil further immediate measures to avoid deflation, Reuters reported. Shares in Standard Life bucked the trend and surged 8.8 percent after it agreed to sell its Canadian operations for about $3.7 billion to Manulife Financial. At 0748 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,383.58 points, retreating from the two-month high hit in the previous session. The benchmark index has gained nearly 7 percent since early August. The ratio measuring the number of negative 'put' options versus bullish 'call' options on the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index - the most liquid European market for options traders - has dropped sharply in the past three weeks, hitting 0.93 earlier this week, down from 2.45 in early August. The euro zone banking index - which has surged 12 percent since early August but remains 9 percent below the year's highs hit in April - was down 0.1 percent on Thursday.
