European shares dip on caution as tariff deadline looms

European shares retreated for the second day in a row on Tuesday as investors stayed away from big bets in a week packed with global political and economic events, including a tariff deadline that threatens to aggravate a U.S.-China trade dispute.

In the event that the world's top two economies fail to reach a trade deal soon, the next round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will kick in on Dec. 15. The pan-regional STOXX 600 index was down 0.3% at 0804 GMT, as caution also prevailed ahead of general elections in Britain and central bank meetings in the United States and the euro zone this week.

Trade sensitive Germany's DAX led declines among its regional peers, while miners and auto stocks also lost ground.