European Shares Move Down Ahead Of Key Rates Decision

London, UK (AHN) - Stocks in Europe started to drop after early session gains on Thursday ahead of rate decisions by central banks.

However, shares could fall as traders react to a report showing an unexpected decline in German manufacturing orders for a fifth month in April.

Factory orders dropped 1.8 percent from March, which is a seasonaly adjusted to the inflation, according to the Economy Ministry in Berlin on Thursday.

Market analysts surveyed had expected the manufacturing index to increase by 0.4 percent.

The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 inched downward 0.14 percent to 317 on Thursday at 12:21 p.m. in London, after most shares rose during the early morning trading led by the banking sector.

In late morning trading, the FTSE 100 was moving down by 15.50 at 5,954 points. Frankfurt's DAX was increasing by 8.73 points at 6,974.

At the same time, the CAC 40 in Paris was moving down by 0.55 points at 4,914.

Nordic operator TeliaSonera has rejected the buyout bid from France Telecom, saying the price per share has significantly undervalued its growth potential.

Shares of TeliaSonera gained 7.4 percent after the Swedish operator's board refused to accept the $42 billion cash-and-share offer from the French operator.

Shares of France Telecom fell 4.2 percent in Paris.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are likely to leave the key interest rates on hold after the policy makers meet Thursday.

The prices of the metals dropped for the fourth time in London today pulling down the major producers of resources.

Shares of Rio Tinto Group slipped by 2.7 percent and BHP Billiton Ltd. decreased by 3.7 percent with the declining rates of metals.