Europe shares turn positive after US housing data

European shares turned positive in afternoon trade on Tuesday after data showed that pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes in April unexpectedly saw their biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years.

At 1405 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares were 0.2 percent higher at 888.04 points after falling as low as 879.23 points earlier in the session.

Automakers were among top gainers, with BMW, Daimler AG, Porsche, Volkswagen AG, Renault and Fiat rising 1.1-11.5 percent.