European shares were steady on Thursday, after falls in the previous session, ahead of a French bond auction that could dampen equity market sentiment if it fails to draw solid demand, according to Reuters. "We would like a low yield and reasonable coverage in the French bond auction and if the market does not get that it will probably get spooked," Andrea Williams, who manages $2.1 billion in assets for Royal London Asset Management, said. "There are worries that France could lose its AAA rating which would knock investor sentiment. Our portfolios are still fairly defensive." By 0814 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,022.60 points after falling 0.6 percent in the previous session. Technology stocks featured among the main movers, with Nokia up 2.7 percent and the top performer in Europe after Credit Suisse raised it to "outperform" from "underperform."
