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Aug 9 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Friday, leading
them to post a second straight week of losses, as worries about
the stability of Italy's government rattled investors and
concerns about Sino-U.S. trade tensions lingered.
Milan's FTMIB index .FTMIB tumbled 1.6% with Italian banks
.FTIT8300 hardest hit after the leader of the ruling League
party, Matteo Salvini, pulled his support for the country's
governing coalition on Thursday.
Markets have recently been sensitive to political
developments in Rome with Italian bond yields jumping each time
there were doubts about the soundness of the government.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX fell 0.2% after
recording its best day in almost two months on Thursday,
following upbeat trade data from China and a steadying of its
currency.
Also weighing on risk appetite was a Bloomberg report, which
said that Washington is delaying a decision about licenses for
U.S. firms to restart trade with Huawei Technologies HWT.UL ,
making investors nervous about a ramp-up of bickering in the
ongoing trade dispute.
Helping to limit losses on the benchmark was the healthcare
sector .SXDP , boosted by Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO , which beat
quarterly operating profit forecasts and raised its 2019 sales
outlook.