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European shares seen dipping slightly at open

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - European stocks were seen opening slightly lower at the open on Thursday, with many investors focusing on a European Central Bank meeting later in the day at which the ECB is expected to keep rates on hold.

Financial bookmakers expected Britain's FTSE 100 to open down by 16 points, or 0.2 percent lower. Germany's DAX was seen down by 4-5 points, or 0.1 percent lower, while France's CAC was seen opening flat.

The ECB is all but certain to keep rates firmly on hold on Thursday but will have to address an ever growing list of obstacles that threaten once again to derail its efforts to revive growth and inflation.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index and the similar FTSEurofirst 300 index both ended 1 percent higher on Wednesday, although they are down by around 7 percent and 6 percent respectively so far in 2016. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta)