Shares edged lower and the dollar hung off recent highs as investors eyed U.S. inflation data due a day later that will likely yield clues to any further aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes.
The stakes are high for the July U.S. consumer prices report after an unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data last week boosted expectations of a sharp interest rate increase to tackle soaring inflation.
The broader Euro STOXX 600 (.STOXX) fell 0.3%, after logging its best session in nearly two weeks on Monday, with German stocks (.GDAXI) down 0.4%. Miners (.SXPP) and autos (.SXAP), among top gainers a day earlier, led declines on Tuesday.
“The focus is on tomorrow’s U.S. inflation numbers and whether or not they are likely to show any indication of a softening of inflationary pressures,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.