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May 22 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on Wednesday
as concerns over a protracted U.S.-China trade war again worried
investors, while a drop in the pound propped up London's
blue-chip index.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down 0.1% by
0708 GMT with Germany's DAX, traditionally sensitive to trade
issues, down 0.2%.
A report that the United States is considering limits on
Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision 002415.SZ added to
the list of tensions between the two sides ahead of a summit
later this month. The STOXX 600 is down about 3% so far this month, on course
for its first monthly decline this year as the tensions threaten
to hurt global growth.
Auto shares .SXAP slipped 0.4% and basic-resources stocks
.SXPP , among those first in the firing line, retreated 0.3%.
Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE , however,
outperformed its peers and rose 0.4%, bolstered by Brexit-driven
falls in the pound, which boost the foreign revenues of its
internationally-focussed firms.
Marks & Spencer MKS.L shares dropped more than 5% after
the retailer reported its third straight decline in full-year
profit, showing the pain of its latest attempt at a multi-year
turnaround. Shares of asset manager Intermediate Capital Group ICP.L
jumped to the top of STOXX 600 after posting full-year results.