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May 20 (Reuters) - A Ryanair profit warning pressured
airline and travel stocks .SXTP and chipmakers slid after
Infineon halted shipments to Huawei as U.S.-China trade tensions
kept a lid on the STOXX 600 .STOXX at the open on Monday.
The pan-European index was down 0.1% by 0735 GMT with most
indices in the red after China struck a more aggressive tone in
its trade war with the United States on Friday, although crude
prices lifted London's oil-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE .
Viennese stocks .ATX fell about 0.6%, underperforming the
benchmark index, after Austria's president called for snap
elections in September following the resignation of the
country's vice chancellor.
Europe's largest low-cost carrier Ryanair RYA.I landed at
the bottom of the STOXX 600 after issuing a profit warning as it
grapples with overcapacity, Brexit and delays in delivery of the
Boeing 737 Max. EasyJet Plc EZJ.L , Lufthansa AG LHAG.DE and Air France
AIRF.PA also slid between 1.5% and 3%.
The tech sector .SX8P fell 0.8%, with Infineon sliding
3.4% on reports of halting shipments to Chinese telecom giant
Huawei after it was blacklisted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Chipmakers AMS AMS.S , STMicroelectronics STM.MI , and
ASML ASML.AS were all down between 1.8% and 3% on fears of
disruption to their client base and STMicro's decline dragged
Italy's FTSE MIB .FTMIB down 1.8%.
Nokia NOKIA.HE jumped 3.1%, the most on the STOXX 600,
while Ericsson ERICb.ST gained 1.3%, as any damage to Huawei
could benefit the European telecom equipment makers.
Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE shares came under pressure after
the New York Times reported that anti-money laundering
specialists at the bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that
multiple transactions involving entities controlled by U.S.
President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner be reported to
a federal financial-crimes watchdog. Merlin Entertainments MERL.L was among the biggest
decliners on the STOXX 600, after HSBC double downgraded the
shares of the Madame Tussauds-owner.
Among the bright spots, the oil and gas sector .SXEP
provided the biggest boost, along with defensive sectors.