head of European strategy at Morgan Stanley. The narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index shed 0.3 percent to 3,125.6 points, with retailers among the weakest performers across the region. French hypermarket operator Carrefour shed 1.5 percent to 40.31 euros as traders reacted negatively to comments about a weak consumer environment in France. "There was a slide show on the company's Web site after the close yesterday, which said they were operating in an environment of deflation and weak volumes and said no format was immune," one London-based trader said. "The stock is reacting to that," the dealer said, while another one said the stock had recovered strongly from a low of around 37.25 euros in late April and was looking vulnerable to short-term profit-taking. William Morrison was another decliner, off 2 percent after Britain's fourth-largest grocer delivered the latest in a string of profit warnings, raising serious questions over its ability to assimilate the Safeway chain it acquired in 2003. --More 2322 Local Time 2022 GMT
