CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-European shares muted as gains in defensives outweigh nerves on trade, Brexit

(Corrects milestone in the first paragraph to show European
shares logged their steepest weekly loss in two months, not one
year.)
* German industrial orders drop in August
* Osram drops after AMS fails takeover bid
* Bayer rises after Roundup lawsuit delay

By Medha Singh
Oct 7 (Reuters) - European shares were little changed in
choppy trade on Monday, after their steepest weekly loss in two
months, as bids in defensive shares outweighed nervousness ahead
of crucial U.S.-China trade talks and Brexit negotiations.
Bayer BAYGn.DE climbed 1.3% as the company said a pending
U.S. lawsuit over claims related to glyphosate-based herbicide
Roundup has been delayed until further notice. Bayer's shares helped the healthcare index .SXDP climb
0.6%, while other defensive stocks popular in times of economic
strife - food and beverage .SX3P and utilities .SX6P - were
also leading gains.
By 0800 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was
little changed, after it tumbled last week on tensions over
transatlantic trade wars and a spate of weak U.S. and European
data.
Europe's blue chip STOXX 50 .STOXX50 outperformed, adding
0.1%.
Germany's DAX .GDAXI declined 0.3% after data showed
industrial orders in August fell slightly more than expected,
underscoring concerns of a recession in Europe's largest
economy. "European stock markets will be eyeing the trade talks and
Brexit and may show little direction at the start of the week,"
said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.
A report that said China officials are increasingly
reluctant to agree to a broad trade deal with the United States,
kept investors nervous ahead of the trade negotiations starting
on Thursday. "Hopes of a comprehensive trade deal being agreed this week
are slim," Wilson said.
Trade-sensitive automakers .SXAP dropped 1.1%, leading
declines among major sectors.
Among individual stocks, Austria's AMS AMS.S tumbled 4.7%
after the company said it failed in its 4.5 billion euro ($4.9
billion) takeover attempt of German lighting group Osram
OSRn.DE . Osram was down 4.1%. Both were leading declines on
the benchmark STOXX 600. London-listed shares of HSBC Holdings Plc HSBA.L fell 1%
after a report over the weekend said the banking group was
planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs to lower costs. Investors will also be looking at developments around the
crucial talks between London and Brussels this week on the
Brexit withdrawal deal, with a looming make-or-break Brexit
summit on Oct. 17 and 18, and the Britain's EU departure set for
Oct. 31.