UPDATE 2-European shares break weeks-long winning streak on trade, recession fears

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By Susan Mathew
Sept 27 (Reuters) - A rally in mining shares lifted European
shares on Friday, but still ended the week lower for the first
time in six weeks due to persistent concerns about the economy,
the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute and uncertainty over
Brexit.
London's blue-chip index .FTSE , packed with companies
whose revenues tend to rise when Britain's pound falls, led the
gains, after the currency took a hit from the Bank of England's
first clear signal that it was considering an interest rate cut.
GBP/ The FTSE 100 rose 1% to close at its highest in almost two
months, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose
0.5%, with the basic resources sector .SXPP gaining 1.7%.
Over the week, STOXX 600 lost 0.3% as gains over the last
two sessions failed to make up for losses earlier in the week
when poor business activity readings and dramatic twists to the
saga of Britain's exit from the European Union dented sentiment.
Concerns about the economy resurfaced on Friday, with data
showing plunging economic sentiment in the euro zone, but an
increase in services sentiment was a bright spot, underlining
that weakness in the manufacturing sector had not yet spread to
services. "That's a positive sign. If you were looking for any sign of
strength in the European economy then the services sector is one
to look for," said Bert Colijn, a senior economist for eurozone
at ING in Amsterdam.
Osram OSRn.DE was among the biggest gainers on the
pan-region index after, up 5.4%, after Austrian sensor maker AMS
AMS.S raised its takeover offer for the German lighting group
to 4.5 billion euros. Hopes for a quick resolution to the U.S.-China trade war
also hung over the market, with CNBC reporting that talks are
scheduled for Oct. 10-11. However, shares of semiconductor companies Infineon
IFXGn.DE , AMS AMS.S and ASM International ASMI.AS came
under pressure after Micron forecast first-quarter profit below
Wall Street targets.
Defensive sectors - healthcare .SXDP , real-estate .SX86P
and utilities .SX6P - were the only decliners among major
European sectors on Friday. But all three ended with gains over
the week as profit warnings from European companies this week
have fuelled fears of recession.
For the week to come, euro zone manufacturing and services
sector PMIs for September as well as August retail sales will be
closely watched.
A World Trade Organization decision whether to officially
authorise U.S. tariffs on European goods imports due to illegal
state aid provided to Airbus AIR.PA due on Monday will also be
watched.