Europe: Shares slip on worries over US-China relations

[LONDON] European shares slipped on Monday as rising tension between the United States and China sapped some appetite for risky assets, while Britain-based exporters outperformed as uncertainty over a Brexit trade deal battered the pound.

Germany's trade-sensitive DAX index and the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1 per cent.

Reuters exclusively reported that United States was preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong.

Banks led declines in Europe, down 1.7 per cent as yields on euro zone bonds fell.

London's FTSE 100, meanwhile, rose 0.2 per cent with consumer and healthcare stocks leading gains. The pound took a beating as negotiators struggled to reach consensus on a post-Brexit trade deal.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are due to hold another call on Monday evening in the hope that stubborn differences over fishing rights in UK waters, fair competition and ways to solve future disputes will have narrowed by then.

REUTERS