PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) - European shares were mixed in early trade on Wednesday, taking a breather from their sharp rally started in mid-April, with lower-than-expected GDP data for Germany and France denting investor appetite for stocks.
At 0707 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.04 percent at 1,236.68 points, while the euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 (Zurich: ^STOXX50E - news) index was down 0.07 percent at 2,793.56 points.
Data showed Germany's economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 0.1 percent in the first quarter, while France entered a shallow recession, contracting by 0.2 percent, more than what economists had expected.
"The euro zone economy is stalled, but people are buying for the medium term, betting that things will improve on the macro front around September," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.
"Inflows remain strong, with so much liquidity from the central banks. Investors are buying every dip."
