Europe shares trim, UK stocks play catch up

Paris - European shares slipped in early trade on Tuesday, trimming the previous session's sharp gains that were fuelled by prospects of further stimulus measures from the European Central Bank.

The UK market shut on Monday for a holiday, gained ground, with the FTSE 100 index up 0.5%.

The eurozone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index was down 0.2%, at 3 158.64 points, while Germany's DAX index lost 0.3% and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1%.

READ: ECB expectations boost European shares

Speaking on Friday at a global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, ECB President Mario Draghi said the central was prepared to respond with all its "available" tools should inflation drop further.

The comments - which have sent the euro to a one-year low against the dollar - have been fuelling speculation the ECB could embark on a large-scale asset-buying scheme known as quantitative easing, or QE, to pump cash into the financial system and revive inflation.