By Sudeshna Ghoshal
Sept 22 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher on Tuesday in choppy trading, with investors watching for potential US-Iran talks as their seven-month-old war dragged on.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2% at 643.05 points by 0919 GMT. Most regional bourses also traded higher.
With world leaders gathering at the United Nations General Assembly this week, focus will be on whether US President Donald Trump will meet his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. The war with Iran is deeply
unpopular in the US, with Trump's own approval rating falling to a record low, as inflation hits Americans' pockets.
"Even though hopes (of a deal) are still alive that there may be some kind of breakthrough behind the scenes at the United Nations conference, given so many leaders are there, there is still a lot of caution about just how complex the war in Iran has become," said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
There could be further indication of how the war has hit the oil-import-dependent euro zone, with consumer confidence data due later in the day.
European energy stocks shed 0.5%, tracking a dip in oil prices after Kyodo News reported that Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 7 days [O/R]
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Washington on Wednesday for talks for the first time in more than a decade amid growing optimism that a trade truce deal between the two nations will be extended, keeping a lid on tensions between the world's two largest economies.
There could be potential cooperation over AI too, with US Treasury Secretary flagging talks on AI safety.
"What they're (investors) looking for is any sign of agreement that there will be a free flow of AI capabilities and materials needed to keep the juggernaut running," said Wealth Club's Streeter.
Back in Europe, Insurance shares were among the top decliners, down 1.3%, pressured by losses in ASR Nederland and AXA.
Retail shares were a bright spot, up roughly 1.8%, boosted by an 8.4% gain in Kingfisher after the European home improvement retailer raised its full-year profit guidance after reporting a 9.9% increase for the first half of the year.
Among individual stocks, UK's Smiths Group shares advanced 5.4% after the engineering firm beat expectations with its full-year operating profit and launched a process to sell its US asbestos liability.
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson shed 3.3% after Morgan Stanley downgraded to "underweight" from "equal-weight".
(Reporting by Sudeshna Ghoshal; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Harikrishnan Nair)
