Mubasher: European shares were relatively flat in early Tuesday trade as UK members of parliament were preparing to debate Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s withdrawal deal, while investors were looking for a string of companies’ earnings, CNBC reported.

By 7:55 am GMT, the pan-European benchmark STOXX 600 index fell by 0.30% to 393.02 points, after teetering around the flatline, with tech and auto shares advancing by 0.7%, whereas household goods lost 0.7%.

European stock markets snapped a three-session losing streak on Monday as investors were cautiously optimistic that Premier Johnson’s Brexit deal will win the parliamentary approval this week.

The UK’s lower house of parliament, the House of Commons, John Bercow refused to allow a vote on the withdrawal agreement on Monday after opposition lawmakers forced a delay to ratifying the deal until the required legislation has been passed.

A three-day debate of Johnson’s exit deal starts on Tuesday,  where opponents will push for passing amendments on customs, a possible second confirmatory referendum, and the block of a no-deal departure.

Meanwhile, Asian share markets rallied on Tuesday, driven probably by remarks from senior White House adviser Larry Kudlow, where he raised the possibility of withdrawing tariff hikes on Chinese goods scheduled for next December.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said that talks between Washington and Beijing were yielding progress.

Swiss bank UBS on Tuesday said that its profit fell by 16% year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, warning of “challenging environment.”

Nevertheless, the banking giant’s shares traded 2.4% higher earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, pharma major Novartis posted profits and sales during the quarter beating forecasts, raising its full-year targets. The company’s stocks rose by 1.7%.

Austrian chip manufacturer AMS also posted a gain of 5.8%, after its revenues in the third quarter came beyond expectations.