European shares pare gains after U.S. data

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - European shares pared gains in afternoon trade on Tuesday after data showed U.S. consumer confidence fell in July to the lowest level since February, weighed mostly by worries about the job market.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 50.4 in July from a revised 54.3 in June. The June reading was revised up from an original 52.9. [ID:nN27219358]

At 1411 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,053.17 points after rising to as high as 1,061.46 earlier in the session.

Financial stocks remained among the top gainers, with the STOXX Europe 600 banking index .SX7P rising 3.8 percent, though off intraday highs. UBS (UBSN.VX) was up 9.5 percent after strong results, while Barclays (BARC.L) rose 7.9 percent.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash)