European shares steady after record close entering holiday week

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click (LIVE/) or type LIVE/ in a news window) Dec 22 (Reuters) - European shares held steady on Monday, with gains in tech and commodity-linked stocks providing support, as investors started a holiday-shortened week on a tepid note following the previous session’s record-high close. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was at 587.28 at 0810 GMT. Major regional markets were lower, with the ones in London (.FTSE) and France (.FCHI) down 0.3% each. The STOXX 600 gained over 1% last week after a slowdown in U.S. consumer price inflation bolstered expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts, while the European Central Bank maintained policy rates and took a more positive view of the euro zone economy. Most sectors retreated following Friday’s robust gains. However, tech shares (.SX8P) gained 0.6% after wrapping up the previous week with a 0.9% decline. Commodity-linked sectors traded higher, with miners (.SXPP) up 1.2% after gold prices raced past $4,400 for the first time and copper prices set a record high. Oil firms (.SXEP) gained 0.3% tracking a rise in oil prices. On the radar will be a gross domestic product reading in the U.S., among the final economic indicators before markets head into holidays later this week. Among stocks, Abivax (ABVX.PA) jumped 10% after media reports of renewed chatter of U.S. pharma giant Eli Lilly (LLY.N) attempting a takeover.