European Shares Little Changed In Lackluster Trade

European stocks showed a lack of direction on Tuesday as investors booked profits from the recent rally amid signs of a thawing in relations between the United States and China.

After the U.S. Treasury Department dropped China's designation as a currency manipulator, media reports suggest that China has pledged to buy nearly an additional $80 billion of U.S. manufactured goods over the next two years.

The phase one U.S.-China trade deal is due to be signed at the White House on Wednesday.

The fourth-quarter corporate earnings season also remained on investors' radar, with Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo reporting their results before the U.S. opening bell.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.1 percent at 418.13 after declining 0.2 percent in the previous session.

The German DAX traded flat and France's CAC 40 index was down 0.1 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was gaining 0.2 percent.

Renault shares dropped half a percent after the French carmaker and its partner Nissan denied reports of a potential split.

Specialty chemicals firm Evonik slumped 4.7 percent after its controlling shareholder sold a 5.2 percent stake at a discount.

Dialog Semiconductor declined more than 1 percent after its preliminary revenue for the fourth-quarter fell to $381 million from $431 million last year.

Sugar producer Suedzucker tumbled 3.5 percent as its Q3 net loss widened.

HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA rose about 1 percent after unveiling its first-half results.

British gambling firm William Hill fell over 1 percent after the Gambling Commission said it would ban consumers from using credit cards to bet from 14 April.

Irish builders merchant Grafton Group soared 6.6 percent after announcing better-than-expected trading results for November and December.

Residential developer Taylor Wimpey advanced 1.5 percent. The company said that its total home completions in U.K. in fiscal 2019 increased by about 5 percent with a record order book.

PageGroup plc., a specialist professional recruitment company, rallied 2 percent after unveiling its fourth-quarter results.

Miners surged, with Antofagasta climbing 2 percent and Glencore adding 1.6 percent, after China released upbeat trading data, showing rising exports and imports in December.