UPDATE 2-Trade woes knock European shares for the fourth day; Thyssenkrupp slumps

* STOXX 600 hits more than 2 week low
* Royal Mail slumps 17% as turnaround plan delayed
* Thyssenkrupp logs worst day in 19-yrs after scrapping
dividend
* Centrica soars after raising efficiency goal

(Updates to close)
By Medha Singh
Nov 21 (Reuters) - European stocks dropped for a fourth
straight day on Thursday as mixed headlines about U.S.-China
trade talks muted risk appetite, while German conglomerate
Thyssenkrupp suffered its worst day in nineteen years after
scrapping its dividend.
Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE tumbled more than 13% as it warned of
deeper losses and asked investors for yet more patience over its
turnaround. The major indexes were broadly lower with the pan-European
STOXX 600 .STOXX set for its first weekly drop in seven.
European miners .SXPP , among the most vulnerable to trade
headlines, led sector losses, dropping more than 1%, while
technology .SX8P and industrials .SXIP lost about 0.4%.
Fears that agreement of an initial trade deal between United
States and China could slide into next year, as well as
political tensions between the two sides due to the U.S. passing
legislation backing protestors in Hong Kong, weighed on
investor sentiment. However, markets closed off of their session lows, with
another report claiming the U.S. could delay tariffs on Chinese
imports even if a trade deal was not reached by Dec. 15.
"The U.S. and China will struggle to reach a phase-one trade
deal, if they reach a deal at all," said Jeroen Blokland, senior
portfolio manager at Robeco.
"While a base case scenario of a marginal improvement in
global growth and a return of positive earnings growth still
applies, recent developments mean it could take longer for this
scenario to materialise," he added.
The volatility gauge on euro zone blue-chips .V2TX , hit a
three week high before closing at session lows.
The STOXX 600 is now about 2% below a four-year peak hit two
weeks ago, which was largely driven by better-than-expected
earnings and hopes that a trade truce between United States and
China was imminent.
Royal Mail RMG.L slumped 14% as Britain's former postal
monopoly said it was running behind schedule with planned
reforms as it grapples with threatened labour unrest and a
slowing UK economy. Centrica Plc CAN.L logged its biggest one-day percentage
rise in over a decade after the utility said it was on course to
meet its full year earnings targets and raised its expected
efficiency savings. British American Tobacco BATS.L rose nearly 4% as the U.S.
dropped a proposal to sharply cut nicotine levels in
cigarettes.