European shares slipped to close marginally lower on Tuesday, as investors monitored events in eastern Ukraine and reacted to economic data from the region.
Euro zone data released
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 Index closed around 0.1 percent lower at 1,375.37, after trading higher in the morning session. Britain's FTSE 100 was flat, meanwhile, as Germany's DAX bucked the trend the end the day around 0.3 percent higher.
European markets
In the U.S., stocks fluctuated on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting another intraday record high, as a gauge of manufacturing jumped to its highest level in three years.
Shares in Anglo American rose 3.2 percent, before paring some gains to close up around 2.5 percent, after the company's CEO said in an interview that it was open to takeover offers. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Mark Cutifani, said he wasn't against a takeover if it was compelling enough.
ECB stimulus eyed
In Europe, data for the euro zone showed that producer prices fell 0.1 percent on the month in July, as expected. Year on year, prices fell 1.1 percent, the European Union statistics agency said.
Read MoreAs ECB looms, we're already in the red zone
The figures come as investors in Europe weigh up the possibility that the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce fresh stimulus measures this week at its policy meeting on Thursday.
"The latest drop in headline inflation, weakening sentiment indicators and economic prospects and, above all, (ECB President) Mario Draghi's speech at Jackson Hole have once again fueled market expectations of more ECB fireworks at this week's meeting," ING's Carsten Brzeski said in a note.
He argued that fully-fledged quantitative easing was "the only tool left", but it "remained highly unlikely" that it would be announced this week.
Read MoreWith ECB in focus, euro downtrend looks strong
Meanwhile, construction data for the U.K. showed a better-than-expected rise, with the index hitting its strongest in seven months in August.
Geopolitical tensions
Tensions over Ukraine and Russia remain in focus following Reuters reports that Russian troops were strengthening their positions in eastern Ukraine.
Separately, Itar-Tass news agency said a Kremlin foreign policy aide had downplayed reported comments by President Vladimir Putin that Russia could capture Ukraine's capital Kiev within two weeks.
Read MorePutin aide: '2 weeks to Kiev' remark out of context
Russian shares ended the day slightly higher on Tuesday.
Read MoreRBA keeps rates steady, says China housing a concern
Luxottica shares fall
In stocks news, shares of Volkswagen closed up over 0.5 percent after Exane BNP Paribas raised its stock to an "outperform" rating.
French telecom group Iliad shares ended over 1.6 percent higher following reports that the company was in talks about a fresh bid for T-Mobile U.S.
Italy's Luxottica saw its shares fall around 0.8 percent after the luxury company announced the departure of Chief Executive Andrea Guerra due to rifts with Chairman Leonardo Del Vecchio.
Read MoreLuxottica overhauls management as CEO steps down
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