Share markets dipped on Tuesday as traders were kept on edge by weak Chinese trade data and the impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling, which also caused a sharp sell-off in short-dated U.S. Treasury bills.

In Europe, real estate stocks were in the spotlight, with the European subindex down more than 2% at one point after top Swedish landlord SBB scrapped plans for a rights issue amid growing liquidity concerns that sparked S&P to cut its credit rating to junk.

The 10-year Treasury yield eased off a one-week high to 3.4843%, and the German 10-year yield was steady at 2.30%.

The risk off tone was also playing out in currency markets, with the euro down 0.25% to $1.09775 .

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, was little changed at 101.53 after climbing overnight from near the bottom of its trading range.

Oil prices slipped, paring strong gains from the previous two sessions. Brent crude was down 1% at $76.24 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1% to $72.43.

That brings my couple days covering the European desk to a close - Wishing you all the best of luck. Keep it tight!