* FTSEurofirst 300 index slips 0.1 percent
* Royal Dutch Shell falls after results miss expectations
* Carmakers slip, traders say near end of outperformance
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By Joanne Frearson
LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on Thursday as traders awaited details of the European Central Bank's two-day monetary policy meeting and its plans to fight inflation.
By 0957 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,161.336 points, having dipped as low as 1,154.96.
Earlier session losses were pared after data showed the Markit Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers' Index expanded faster than initially thought in January, but the main event is the outcome of the ECB meeting. "Investors will be focused on the ECB meeting and want a clear-cut statement on how it plans to combat inflation," Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research in Frankfurt said.
The ECB is expected to keep interest rates on hold, but send a sharper tone that it is ready to tackle rising inflationary pressures in the euro zone.
"We have seen a lot of companies complain about rising input costs and how these are now going to be passed onto the customer. This is not good news, and inflation needs to be tackled," Ruland said.
Oil stocks featured among the worst performers. The STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas index fell 1.2 percent, while Royal Dutch Shell slipped 2.9 percent after results fell short of market expectations.
European automakers were also in decline after traders said the sector had neared the end of its outperformance cycle.
The STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts was down 0.6 percent, while Peugeot, Daimler and Renault fell between 0.7 and 1.8 percent.
"The index slips below its last low from Jan. 24, which confirms the end of outperformance (of the sector)," a trader said, adding that, for portfolio managers, this is the last signal to switch from "overweight" to "equalweight".
ACS DROPS
Spanish builder ACS dropped 7.9 percent after Corp Alba said it had placed 5 percent of ACS with institutional investors at 34 euros per share, 9 percent lower than ACS's closing price yesterday.
On the upside, Nordic and emerging market telecoms firm TeliaSonera gained 3.3 percent after the company said it would buy back around 10 billion crowns ($1.56 billion) of its shares.
British telecoms provider BT rose 3.3 percent after it said its recovering Global Services unit would generate free cash flow this year, and it reported a 7 percent increase in third-quarter core profit as it continued to cut costs.
Technical indicators showed the market was nearing overbought territory. The relative strength index (RSI) on the euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose to 66 on Wednesday, but had fallen back to 62.5 on Thursday. Seventy and above is considered overbought territory.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX was up 0.1 percent, and France's CAC 40 fell 1 percent. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Will Waterman)