European shares flat; drugmakers fall, miners up

European shares were flat in early trade on Tuesday, with falls in drugmakers offsetting gains in mining stocks.

By 0819 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,019.07 points after gaining 1.2 percent in the previous session.

"It had a good run yesterday, so I would be surprised if it does anything too much on the upside today," said Bernard McAlinden, market strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.

"The U.S. and Asian markets were good overnight. Earnings in general have been on the right side of things. But, what is still going on in the background is the Greece issue."

The European Union urged Greece on Monday to agree additional austerity measures within days to tackle a fiscal crisis that has shaken the euro zone and promised to help Athens overcome its debt problems.

Mining stocks were among the biggest risers. Anglo American , BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata rose 0.4 to 0.9 percent.

Drugmakers were out of favour. Intercell fell 6.6 percent after it gave a weak outlook, while Novartis slipped 3 percent.