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London - European shares marked time on Tuesday after a two-day rise that left some regional indices in technical "overbought" territory.
An unexpected rise in French industry morale helped put a floor on the market, however, building on a strong German business sentiment survey on Monday.
The eurozone Euro STOXX 50 was flat at 3 212.26 points. Germany's DAX was up 0.1% while France's CAC down 0.1%.
All three indices closed in "overbought" territory on Monday, based on their 7-day Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator which compares the magnitude of rises and falls in prices.
"A small pullback (in the Euro STOXX 50) from here towards 3 190 is normal," said Roelof-Jan van den Akker, a senior technical analyst an ING in Amsterdam. "A short-term consolidation ... for a couple of weeks before the next rally starts would be my most likely scenario."
The broader FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European shares was flat at 1 386.23 points.
Energy companies weighed on the FTSEurofirst as Brent crude oil prices fell to $79.50 on the back of lower expectation of a significant output cut by Opec.
Kingfisher was among top fallers on the index, shedding 2.4% after Europe's leading home improvement retailer posted an 11.8% decline in third quarter profit, hurt by a weak French market and foreign currency movements.
Zodiac Aerospace was the top riser, up 4.4%, after the maker of aircraft cabin interiors and systems predicted a gradual return towards normal levels of profitability in the current financial year.
