(Reuters) - European shares steadied after two straight days of losses on Wednesday as investors braced for news on whether Greece would succeed in restructuring its huge debt pile, and evidence mounted of a weakening outlook for global economic growth. Australia reported economic output in the last quarter of 2011 that was way below expectations, adding to concerns about a slowdown in China, with the release of key U.S. jobs data due at the end of the week beginning to loom large. "Given the fact that we are all waiting for the Greek (debt) deal, risk appetite is unlikely to pick up much, especially given U.S. payrolls data on Friday is coming up," said Melinda Burgess, currency strategist at RBS. The three main U.S. equity indexes recorded their biggest one-day percentage drop this year on Tuesday, while a key risk measure, the CBOE Volatility index (VIX) .VIX jumped nearly 16 percent, reflecting a receding appetite for riskier assets. The FTSE Eurofirst .FTEU3 index of top European shares edged up 0.1 percent in early trade after diving 2.6 percent to a one-month closing low on Tuesday. German government bonds inched lower but held near record highs as a clutch of Greek pension funds and some foreign investors were seen holding back on the Greek bond swap deal which must be agreed by late Thursday. If fewer than 75 percent of creditors accept the offer, the deal could be off, potentially plunging the euro zone back into crisis. The euro, which plumbed a three-week low of $1.3103 late on Tuesday, but has managed to stay above solid support around $1.31, was trading around $1.3130. Attention will be on German industrial goods orders in January, due later, which are expected to increase 0.5 percent after rising a more-than-expected 1.7 percent in December. Demand from outside the euro zone is expected to more than compensate for a drop in orders from within the currency bloc.

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