* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.1 percent
* Financials weigh on index; pharmas up
* Macro data eyed later in the day
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click on
By Christoph Steitz
FRANKFURT, June 16 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher on Tuesday morning with the leading index weighed on by financials, and after the previous session's steep losses.
At 0915 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 863.86 points, after having been up as much as 0.3 percent earlier in the session.
"The questions is now whether the market correction will continue," said Heino Ruland, market strategist at Ruland Research in Germany, noting the heavy losses on Wall Street on Monday and, to some extent, in Asia earlier on Tuesday.
U.S. stocks fell on Monday after regional manufacturing data dented optimism about the economy's health and resource shares fell alongside commodity prices.
Banks and insurers were the heaviest losers, with BNP Paribas, UniCredit and Allianz down 2.1-3.6 percent.
The European Central Bank had said on Monday that euro area insurance companies may face "significant" balance sheet stress ahead due to financial market turbulence and a weak economy.
It also said euro zone banks faced potential further writedowns of $283 billion through 2010.
Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index was up 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX index was flat and France's CAC 40 was up 0.2 percent.
PHARMAS GAIN, MACRO DATA EYED
Pharma stocks added most points to the pan-European index, and the DJ STOXX European health care index was up 0.8 percent.
German Bayer rose 0.6 percent after its chief executive told a newspaper that debt reduction and securing liquidity was taking precedence over acquisitions during the economic crisis.
Sanofi-Aventis and GlaxoSmithKline rose 2.3 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
Shares in Britain's biggest retailer Tesco rose 2.5 percent, after the company reported its best quarterly sales rise in Britain for two years.
British consumer price inflation slowed less than anticipated in May, staying above the Bank of England's 2 percent target.
Investors will also look out for more macro data from the United States later in the day, with U.S. building permits due 1230 GMT, and industrial production due 1315 GMT.
"If housing permits and starts give reason to hope that the U.S. housing market correction is running out, the recovery of Bunds and U.S. Treasuries will start to falter. However, we do not assume it is already about to end," Commerzbank wrote in a note.