In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 shares index fell 0.2 percent to 6,519.14 points compared with Monday's closing level, as investors digested news of Britain's rising unemployment rate.
The broader-based S&P 500 was up by a similar amount, with markets also eyeing a $908 billion bipartisan stimulus plan set to be presented by lawmakers Monday.
A Reuters poll of 26 fund managers, strategists and brokers surveyed over the past two weeks expects the STOXX 600 to climb to 430 points by the end of 2021, just a whisker below February’s record highs, as economic activity returns to normal following the COVID-19 downturn.
The pan-European STOXX 600, which had closed at a near two-week high in the previous session, slid 0.5%, with food and beverage, telecoms, and healthcare stocks falling between 0.7% and 0.8%.