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* Trump to meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to discuss trade
* Luxury goods makers advance after upbeat LVMH results
* Germany's August exports fall more than expected
* Chr. Hansen hits 1-1/2 year low after weak 2019 forecast
(New throughout, updates to close)
By Susan Mathew
Oct 10 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday as signs
of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and hopes of a Brexit deal
helped investors look past weak economic data and negative
corporate updates.
Trade-sensitive commodity-linked stocks .SXPP and autos
.SXAP led the charge, surging more than 2% each, while upscale
retailers also rallied and banks .SX7P posted their best day
in a month.
Investors took heart after U.S. President Donald Trump
tweeted he would meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday for
further trade talks, confirming the Chinese delegation would not
be cutting the two-day negotiations short.
"The gulf between the two sides is wide, but a willingness
to sit down and negotiate has injected some hope into the
markets," said David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
The pan-regional STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 0.7%.
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH's LVMH.PA 5.6% jump on strong sales
was the biggest boost to the index and lifted stocks across the
luxury goods sector.
Gucci-owner Kering PRTP.PA , Burberry BRBY.L , Christian
Dior DIOR.PA and Moncler MONC.MI climbed between 0.7% and
4.2%, with the Paris listed names pushing the French index
.FCHI to its best day in six-weeks.
The latest trade comments fueled optimism that had been
dulled after China urged the United States to stop unreasonable
pressure on Chinese companies. The South China Morning Post also
reported that the two sides made no progress in deputy-level
trade talks earlier in the week.
Without significant progress, the next round of U.S. tariff
hikes on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods will take effect on
Oct. 15.
Frankfurt's export reliant DAX .GDAXI rose 0.6%, reversing
losses posted after data showed a steeper-than-expected fall in
Germany's August exports. London's FTSE 100 .FTSE climbed 0.3%, despite a rallying
pound GBP= , after the UK and Irish Prime Minsters said they
saw a pathway to a possible Brexit deal after a last-ditch
meeting aimed at finding a way for the United Kingdom to leave
the European Union in an orderly way. GBP/
There was a clear move out of defensives with utilities
.SX6P and food and beverages .SX3P both losing around 0.4%,
while a batch of bad news for healthcare companies hurt the
healthcare index .SXDP .
Danish biosciences company Chr. Hansen CHRH.CO hit its
lowest level in a year and a half, sliding to the bottom of the
STOXX 600 index after saying next year's organic sales growth
would fall short of long-term guidance. Health technology company Philips PHG.AS lost 8.8% after
the firm said it would miss its 2019 target for profit margin
improvement.