European shares fell in early trading on Monday, trimming some of the previous session's sharp gains, following soft macro data from China and Japan while Italian shares dropped after S&P downgraded the country's credit rating, dpa reported.
Milan's MIB index was down 0.7 percent, with Banco Popolare down 1.3 percent and BMPS down 0.9 percent.
S&P on Friday cut the country's sovereign credit rating from BBB to BBB-, just one notch above junk, citing weak growth and poor competitiveness which undermine the sustainability of its huge public debt.