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Aug 5 (Reuters) - European shares fell to two-month lows on
Monday as anxiety over U.S.-China trade frictions drove
investors toward traditional safe-havens including government
bonds, while HSBC shares dipped 1% after the shock departure of
Chief Executive John Flint.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX fell 1% adding to
a 2.5% fall on Friday, its worst day so far in 2019, after U.S.
President Donald Trump upped the ante on China by slapping 10%
tariffs on another $300 billion in imports.
The basic resources index of miners and other commodities
firms .SXPP led declines, with metals prices falling as
China's offshore yuan CFXS= hit a record low, making it
expensive for the world's biggest copper consumer to buy
dollar-denominated metals.
HSBC HSBA.L shares matched the roughly 1% fall in the
pan-European index after it announced Flint's departure after
just 18 months in the job.
The Asia-focussed bank, grappling with the escalation of the
trade war with China and a swing towards a new round of monetary
easing, also reported a 15.9% rise in first-half pretax profit.
Shares in German group Metro B4B.DE fell 6% after Czech
businessman Daniel Kretinsky's investment vehicle denied reports
it was considering raising its takeover offer price for the
German retailer and wholesaler.
Defensive plays real estate .SX86P and utilities .SX6P
stocks both outperformed.