European shares mixed after Wall Street strength counteracts BOJ

By Alistair Smout and Danilo Masoni LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) - European shares were mixed on Thursday, with initial weakness after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly held off from expanding monetary stimulus later counteracted by strength on Wall Street. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which hit a three-month high last week, closed up 0.2 percent at 1373.23, rising off its lows after the Wall Street open. "European markets recovered from sharp early losses as strength in the basic resource se