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Aug 21 (Reuters) - European shares were flat on Friday ahead
of business activity data that could throw light on the pace of
economic recovery in the continent, while a stronger pound
dragged UK's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 lower.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was up 0.1% by
0720 GMT, still reeling from weak U.S. data and downbeat tone
from the U.S. Federal Reserve that sparked a selloff on
Thursday.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE slipped 0.3% even as data
showed retail sales surged past their pre-coronavirus level in
July, although economists feared the broad recovery could prove
temporary. All eyes will be on the Markit's flash survey of European
purchasing managers in August, which is expected to show that a
pick-up in business activity stagnated in August after a rebound
in July.
Travel and leisure stocks .SXTP were the biggest sectoral
gainers, up 1.2%, but losses in financial services .SXFP and
telecoms .SXKP dragged on the broader index.
Irish building and insulation materials firm Kingspan
KSP.I jumped 5.5% after its chief executive said the company
saw significant pent up demand post-lockdown. Swiss drugmaker Novartis NOVN.S gave the biggest boost to
the STOXX 600 after it won U.S. health regulator's approval to
repurpose an 11-year-old blood cancer drug against multiple
sclerosis.