European stocks inched lower in early trading on Monday, taking a breather following last week's sharp gains, while Ryanair soared after raising its profit outlook, Reuters reported. Shares in the low-cost airline climbed 5.9 percent after it lifted its annual profit forecast almost 20 percent on a surge in winter bookings and said it would slash fares by up to 10 percent in the new year to steal more market share from struggling higher-cost rivals. At 0802 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,350.56 points. The benchmark index gained 1.8 percent on Friday, after the Bank of Japan surprised global financial markets by ramping up its massive stimulus spending.
