European shares pause after biggest rise since Aug

London - European shares paused on Tuesday following strong gains in the previous session, with mixed corporate updates also providing little clear direction for the market.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.1% at 1 412.00 points by 09:09, having risen 3% in the previous session, its biggest one day rise since August.

Top riser was Bouygues Telecom, up 2%, after France's third-largest mobile operator said it aimed to improve its profit margins and sales in the coming years as it seeks to defend its standalone strategy.

On the downside, SABMiller dropped 2% after results that were materially impacted by adverse currency movements, even as it reported a 2% rise in second-quarter sales volumes percent rise in second-quarter sales volumes.

Germany's blue-chip DAX index lagged the market, down 0.5% after data showed that German industrial orders dropped unexpectedly in August.