* STOXX 600 down 0.4%
* Airlines, travel and leisure sectors suffer
* Asian shares boosted by strong China data
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Tom Wilson
LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday
as worries over the coronavirus pandemic overshadowed Chinese
trade data that pointed to a buoyant recovery, while the U.S.
dollar edged away from a three-week low.
The broader Euro STOXX 600 .STOXX fell 0.4% in early
trading, with bourses in Frankfurt .GDAXI , London .FTSE and
Paris .FCHI all down by a similar margin.
Keeping markets on edge, traders said, was news that Johnson
& Johnson JNJ.N was pausing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate
clinical trials because of an unexplained illness in a study
participant. Investors see the quick introduction of a coronavirus
vaccine as key to helping economies bounce back. J&J's move
comes after AstraZeneca AZN.L paused late-stage trials of its
experimental vaccine in September, also due to a participant's
unexplained illness.
The travel and leisure .SXTP and autos .SXAP sectors
suffered, losing 1.7% and 0.6% respectively.
Wall Street was also set to lose ground, with S&P 500
futures ESc1 last down 0.5%.
The pessimistic mood jarred with earlier resilience on Asian
markets, which recovered losses after Chinese data showed
exports rising 9.9% in September and imports swinging to a 13.2%
jump versus a 2.1% drop in August. The data, which suggests Chinese exporters are recovering
briskly from the pandemic's hit to overseas orders, helped
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS gain 0.1% after earlier falling into negative
territory.
Chinese blue chip shares .CSI300 also gained 0.3% after
dipping early in the day. Some investors, though, raised
questions about how strong consumer demand would prove to be.
"The question is not necessarily how China's trade is doing
per se, but how well will consumers spend on Christmas to give
some sense of normalcy amid a period of great stress," said
Nordea Investments' Sebastien Galy in a note.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares in nearly 50 countries, fell 0.1%.
On Monday, the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC jumped 2.6%, its
biggest one-day rally in a month.
Wall Street gains were driven by Apple Inc AAPL.O , which
surged 6.4% ahead of the expected debut of its latest iPhone.
Amazon AMZN.O , another of the Big Tech winners from the
pandemic, rallied 4.8% ahead of a major marketing event.
BIDEN BOUNCE?
Investors are increasingly expectant of a victory for
Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the U.S. Presidential election
next month. That would likely herald a big stimulus package to
help the coronavirus-battered U.S. economy.
"Biden effectively leading in the polls is removing some
element of uncertainty," said Jeremy Gatto, an investment
manager at Unigestion in Geneva. "In investors' minds, it's not
a question of it we get a stimulus, but when."
A Biden win is seen by some as negative for the U.S. dollar,
give the candidate's pledge of higher corporate tax rates.
Still, the greenback rose 0.2% against a basket of other
major currencies to 93.214 =USD , trying to extend a rebound
from Friday's near-three-week low of 92.997 as market players
favoured the dollar over riskier currencies.
The Chinese yuan fell 0.1% to 6.7466 per dollar CNH= ,
after the central bank set a weaker than forecast midpoint,
offsetting any boost from the trade data.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar dropped as much as 0.6% to
$0.7165 AUD=D4 , not helped by media reports China has stopped
taking shipments of Australian coal. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock
markets, please click on: LIVE/
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