European shares clawed back some gains from last week's losses on Monday and the euro backed off three-week highs as investors traded cautiously ahead of key data this week's including an Italian bond auction and a key German economic sentiment index.

After a run of positive numbers, weak PMI reports last week stoked fears that China's economy is slowing and the euro zone is sliding into recession.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> opened a third of a percent higher after losing 2.6 percent the previous week, the worst so far this year.

This is going to be a sideways to slightly bearish market for a least a couple of weeks in Europe, said Valerie Gastaldy, general manager of Paris-based Technical analysis firm Day by Day.

MSCI's main world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 0.1 percent.

The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.3250.

German Bund futures inched up at the open with traders bracing for softer Ifo sentiment data after weak manufacturing figures last week renewed growth worries about Europe's biggest economy.

(Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt; editing by John Stonestreet)

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