* Roller coaster session for the pound
* FTSE ends slightly up as pounds edges down
* Galenica jumps 7.5 pct after earnings beat expectations
* Geberit falls after results (Adds closing prices)By Helen Reid and Julien PonthusLONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - European shares ended flat onTuesdat after a choppy session during which hopes British PrimeMinister Theresa May would win support for her plans for anorderly Brexit in an evening vote in Parliament gradually faded.European bourses trimmed their morning gains and thepan-European index ended the day down 0.04 percentwhile the euro zone's STOXXE rose a mere 0.1 percent.
Dublin's ISEQ , which typically falls on fears of adisorderly Brexit, edged up 0.25 percent with investors stillconfident a no-deal Brexit will eventually be averted.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent as a retreatingpound provided an accounting boost to the big exporters thatdominate the index.The British currency experienced heavy volatility, pushingblue chips in and out of positive territory.
"Sterling rode the proverbial Brexit rollercoaster onTuesday," wrote Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.Among individual stocks, French engineering firm Spie jumped 8.6 percent after reportingstronger-than-expected net income.
Swiss drug retailer Galenica was also among topwinners, gaining 6.2 percent after full-year earnings anddividend beat the market's expectations. German carmaker Volkswagen fell 1.8 percentafter reporting a decline in operating margins for its core VWbrand and announcing it would introduce almost 70 new electricmodels by 2028. Dutch payments firm Adyen dropped 5 percent afterpre-IPO investors sold 2.5 million shares at a 9 percentdiscount. Overall, the fourth-quarter earnings season has beenunderwhelming. Over the past four months, analysts have cuttheir earnings growth expectations for 2019 from 9 percent tojust 5 percent.
Swiss baked goods firm Aryzta jumped 9.75 percentafter it reported its U.S. margin grew for the first time since2014. Outside results, Telecom Italia shares fell 5.9percent to the bottom of the FTSE MIB as a battlebetween two of its top shareholders, Vivendi and Elliott, rampedup ahead of an AGM later in the day. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Europe earnings growth expectations MARCH 12 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Helen Reid and Julien Ponthus; Editing byCatherine Evans)
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