Europe midday: Shares come off session lows as single currency weakens

European stocks are trading slightly lower but are off coming off their worst levels of the session on the back of a dip in the euro's value as recent buying in the US dollar continues.

As of 1300 GMT the benchmark Stoxx 600 was down by 0.27% or 1.06 points to 386.41, alongside a fall of 0.38% or 50.33 points to 13,009.32 for the German Dax.

The Cac-40 on the other hand was retreating by 0.46% or 24.98 points to 5,364.31.

Economic data out on Tuesday revealed that the euro area's service sector continued to be in rude health, with IHS Markit's purchasing managers' index for November printing at 56.2, up from a reading of 55.0 in October, which was in-line with a preliminary estimate.

However, according to Eurostat Eurozone retail sales volumes plummeted by 1.1% month-on-month in October (consensus: -0.7%).

Spanish industrial production for October on the other hand surprised to the upside, with figures from the country's national statistics office, INE, showing growth of 0.6% versus September (consensus: 0.4%) and of 4.1% in comparison to the year-earlier level.

Later in the day, at 1330 GMT the US Department of Commerce was set to release its foreign trade numbers for the month of October, followed by the ISM Institute's service sector purchasing managers' index for November at 1500 GMT.

On the corporate front, Thyssenkrupp chairman Ulrich Lehner rejected calls from some investors for a break-up of the group, Handelsblatt reported.

In France, Carrefour and FNAC Darty unveiled a purchasing alliance for white goods and consumer electronics.

Elsewhere, Natixis reportedly said it was aiming to boost Asia's share of its corporate and investment banking sales to over 15% in the new few years.