European shares fall for 3rd day, Carlsberg leads

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - European shares dipped for a third straight session on Monday led down by Danish brewer Carlsberg after its results lagged forecasts, and some expected further weakness in the near-term.

The world's fourth-biggest brewer posted a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit as sales stalled in its key Russia market and western Europe remained sluggish, sending its shares 5.8 percent lower.

The FTSEurofirst 300 provisionally closed down 0.2 percent at 1,159.12 points, after a lacklustre session with Wall Street closed for President's Day, retreating further from a two-year closing peak of 1,177.79 scaled at the end of January.

"There's every chance that markets could go a little bit lower in the short term," Henk Potts, market strategist at Barclays, said, although he was more confident further out.

"I still think in the medium to long term the fundamentals remain incredibly supportive around corporate profitability growth, around M&A activity, health of balance sheets, and undemanding valuations."