UPDATE 1-European shares hold steady as results season steams along

* STOXX 600 flat

* Results in focus: BP, StanChart, Credit Suisse, Lufthansa

* GAM tumbles after co suspends investment director(Adds quotes and detail)

By Kit Rees

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - European shares struggled fordirection on Tuesday as stocks were pulled about by earningsupdates from oil major BP, big lenders and a host of smaller UKcompanies.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat in percentageterms by 0848 GMT, as was Germany's DAX. Tech stockswere notable underperformers, down 0.4 percent andtracking overnight declines in U.S. and Asian peers.

Earnings were the big focus following results from bighitters BP, Standard Chartered and Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse rose 1.3 percent after the Swisslender doubled its second-quarter profit but rival StandardChartered fell 3.2 percent after its half-year update.

Lufthansa led travel and leisure stockshigher. Shares in the German airline jumped 6 percent after itssecond-quarter operating income beat estimates.

Shares in French media conglomerate Vivendi gained5.2 percent after it reported results and said it wasconsidering selling up to half of its UMG music division.

Barclay's European equity strategists said that so farEuropean second quarter results are "reassuring" and that theyexpect European equities to fare better into the year-end.

"Europe still lacks self-help, it remains hostage to messypolitics and is thus overly dependent on the fate of the globalcycle. The region is unlikely to decouple, but it is making slowprogress on structural reforms," strategists at Barclays said ina note.

"We believe the positives outweigh the negatives and areoverweight equities for now. But risks are mainly tilted to thedownside, which warrants a balanced risk allocation within ourportfolio," Barclays strategists added. They prefer UK equitiesto the euro zone.

So far this earnings season, half of MSCI EMU companies havebeaten analysts' expectations, with reported actual year-on-yearearnings growth clocking in at 8.6 percent, according to I/B/E/Sdata.

BP's shares gained 0.7 percent after the oil major'ssecond-quarter profit beat expectations on the back of higheroil prices and increased output.

Along with BP, Lundin Petroleum helped boostEurope's energy index. The Swedish independent oil firmrose around 7 percent after its second-quarter core profit beatexpectations and its costs fell.

A number of smaller UK companies saw some big share pricemoves after their results. Shares in Travis Perkinstumbled more than 10 percent and was one of the worst STOXX 600performers after the building materials supplier cuts its profitoutlook on the back of a weak DIY market.

Centrica and Rentokil Initial also fellafter updates.

Elsewhere shares in Swiss group GAM Holding dropped20.6 percent after it suspended its investment directedfollowing an internal investigation.(Reporting by Kit ReesEditing by Louise Heavens and Raissa Kasolowsky)