European shares open higher ahead of manufacturing, inflation data

(Reuters) – European shares opened higher on Tuesday after clocking small gains in August, but sentiment was shaky ahead of key economic readings that are likely to indicate an uneven recovery from the coronavirus.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.STOXX> rose 0.4% in early trade, taking some support from better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data.

China-sensitive sectors such as basic resources <.SXPP> and automobiles <.SXAP> rose about 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Markets were awaiting local manufacturing and inflation readings for August. Both data sets are expected to show a slight decline from the prior month.

In corporate news, Telecom Italia rose 1.5% after its board approved a sale of a minority stake in its last-mile grid to U.S. investment firm KKR , while endorsing a government plan to create a single ultrafast network with rival Open Fiber.

(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)