European shares were muted on Tuesday, as uncertainty about the direction of global interest rates prompted investors to stick to the sidelines, while miners weighed on concerns about weak demand from China.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index held steady at 461.17 points by 0710 GMT as investors weighed hawkish signals from central bankers against data pointing to slowing global growth.
Miners fell 0.3% as metal prices slipped on concerns about the demand outlook from China after a raft of weak economic data, while a 0.5% increase in banks limited losses.
Trading volumes are expected to be thin with most of Wall Street closed for the U.S. Independence Day public holiday while the economic data calendar is also light.
Wacker Chemie advanced 2.7% to the top of the STOXX 600 after HSBC upgraded its rating to "buy" from "hold."
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
