London: European stocks remained steady at the start of trading on Tuesday, as caution prevailed ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, and gains in financial and industrial stocks helped support the index.

According to Qatar News Agency, the STOXX 600 rose 0.1 percent to 579.14 points. Most major European indexes climbed, with the German and Spanish indexes each rising 0.3 percent.

Financial-services shares led gains, up 0.7 percent. The shares of Man Group and EQT rose 4.4 percent and 2.7 percent respectively, following rating upgrades by J.P. Morgan.

Banking stocks gained 0.4 percent, led by a 1.6 percent rise in the share of BNP Paribas. Industrial-sector stocks rose 0.5 percent, driven by defense-industry shares; the broader index tracking aerospace and defense stocks advanced 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the share of Thyssenkrupp slumped 12.6 percent, and the share of British American Tobacco dropped 4.3 percent.