European equities were little changed on Tuesday, with both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovering near the flatline after advancing almost 1% in the previous session. The technology rally that lifted Wall Street overnight failed to spill over into European trading, while oil prices inched higher after four consecutive sessions of declines.
Market participants continued to focus on diplomatic developments, particularly efforts to defuse tensions with Iran. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly later today and has not ruled out a potential meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Among blue chips, ASML (-0.2%), HSBC (-0.8%), Banco Santander (-0.6%) and Allianz (-2.9%) traded in negative territory, while Shell (+0.8%) and TotalEnergies (+1%) posted gains. The software sector outperformed, led by Prosus (+3.7%), whereas automakers and pharmaceutical stocks came under pressure.
