CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-European stocks stall as auto tariff worries weigh

(Corrects to "Spanish bourse BME" from "stock exchange operator
Euronext" in paragraph 1)
* Spanish bourse BME hits 4-year high
* Car industry index sinks on tariff fears
* Defensive shares gain favour amid trade uncertainty
* London midcaps rally on Brexit optimism

By Sruthi Shankar
Nov 18 (Reuters) - A bidding war for Spanish bourse BME and
gains in defensive stocks propped up European markets on Monday,
although doubts on whether or not the United States will impose
tariffs on EU carmakers weighed on shares.
Europe's benchmark STOXX index .STOXX was up just 0.1%, as
the spillover from upbeat trading in Asian hours wore off.
Trade-sensitive shares in Germany .GDAXI and France .FCHI
were down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
The auto industry sub-index .SXAP fell 0.8%.
"For European markets, the fact that Trump still hasn't made
a decision in relation to tariffs is kind of hanging over," said
David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets in London.
"People don't want to buy up the DAX or the CAC aggressively
while that decision hasn't been made yet."
Reports last week that U.S. President Donald Trump will
delay a decision on the EU auto tariffs for another 180 days,
along with better-than-expected corporate results and optimism
about U.S. trade talks with China had sent European shares back
near a 4-year peak.
European shares started on a positive note on Monday after
Chinese state media Xinhua reported over the weekend that
Beijing and Washington had "constructive talks" on trade in a
high-level phone call on Saturday. China's central bank also unexpectedly trimmed a closely
watched lending rate for the first time in more than four years
on Monday, a signal that policymakers are ready to act to prop
up slowing growth.
The top gainer on the STOXX 600 was Spanish bourse BME
BME.MC , which soared 36.6% to a four-year high after
pan-European stock market operator Euronext ENX.PA and
Switzerland's SIX entered a bidding war for the operator.
Europe's financial services index .SXFP jumped 0.8%, but
defensive real estate .SX86P and healthcare .SXDP sectors —
considered as safer bets at times of economic uncertainty — led
gains among the major European subsectors.
Among other individual movers, Frankfurt-listed shares of
genetic testing company Qiagen NV QIA.DE jumped 12.1% after
the company said it had started reviewing options including a
sale. London's internationally exposed FTSE 100 .FTSE was hurt
by a stronger pound after polls showed British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson's Conservatives had a 14 point lead over the
opposition Labour Party ahead of a Dec. 12 election.
The domestically focused mid-cap index .FTMC , which tends
to rise with sterling, gained 0.4%. British life and general insurer Aviva Plc AV.L was the
top decliner on the STOXX 600 after the firm said it was looking
at strategic options for its operations in Vietnam, Indonesia
and Hong Kong.