European shares' rebound stalls; Remy, SAP sink

PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) - European shares were steady in early trade on Thursday, halting the previous session's rebound as lower-than-expected U.S. results and a warning by SAP (Berlin: SAP.BE - news) over the negative impact of a strong euro eclipsed dovish comments from the Fed.

Investors were also reluctant to chase stocks higher ahead of the Easter holiday weekend, and as tensions in Ukraine continued to rise.

Shares in Remy Cointreau (Frankfurt: RMC.F - news) tumbled 6.2 percent after the spirits maker warned that full-year operating profit would drop between 35 and 40 percent, hurt by a Chinese government crackdown on ostentatious spending.

At 0704 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,321.41 points, after gaining 1.2 percent on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to keep interest rates low, even after ending its bond-buying program, as long as inflation remains below target and unemployment elevated. The dovish comments helped fuel a rally on Wall Street.

However, the effects of that rally were later mitigated after Internet giant Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG - news) posted first quarter revenue that fell short of Wall Street targets.

German business software maker SAP (NYSE: SAP - news) fell 3.9 percent after it warned that the negative impact of volatile exchange rates will worsen in the second quarter as the strong euro weighs on its financial results. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)