(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
* China exports shrink for fourth straight month in Nov
* Tullow hits 19-year low after scrapping dividend
* Tesco jumps on review of Asian units
* Osram soars after speculation AMS might make higher offer
(Updates to close, adds comments from asset managers)
By Susan Mathew and Arjun Panchadar
Dec 9 (Reuters) - European stocks slipped on Monday, dragged
down by a slump in shares of Tullow Oil after its chief
executive stepped down and the oil and gas explorer scrapped its
dividend, while weak data out of China also weighed on
sentiment.
Shares in Tullow TLW.L , which continues to face issues at
its main producing assets in Ghana, hit a 19-year low following
the announcements. The broader energy .SXEP index shed 1%, the most among the
European sub-sectors, as crude prices fell O/R . The
pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX index lost 0.2%, following a
more than 1% gain on Friday after a robust U.S. jobs report.
On Monday, data from China showed exports in November shrank
for the fourth straight month, the latest sign that the world's
second-largest economy continues to reel from the impact of a
prolonged trade war with the United States. "(The China data) is obviously not ideal for the exports
market and trade overall. So, trade concerns are certainly
back," said head of equities Roger Jones, and senior equity
analyst Renata Klita, at asset manager London & Capital.
Washington an Beijing have been engaged in discussions since
October to strike an initial trade deal ahead of the next set of
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods that are to take effect on Dec.
15. There is also some market caution going into big events in
the market this week, including U.S. and European central bank
meetings as well as British parliamentary elections, Jones and
Klita added.
Recent opinion polls indicate British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson's Conservative Party holds a significant lead over the
Labour Party. If Johnson gains a parliamentary majority, he can
win ratification for his Brexit deal, ending three-and-a-half
years of political paralysis. Healthcare heavyweights Sanofi SASY.PA and Roche ROG.S
were among the biggest drags on shares amid takeover attempts of
Synthorx THOR.O and Spark Therapeutics ONCE.O ,
respectively. French stocks .FCHI lost half a percent as the country's
finance minister said they were ready to go to the World Trade
Organization to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump's threat
to impose tariffs on champagne and other French goods in a row
over a French tax on internet companies. Limiting losses on the STOXX 600 was a 4.6% jump in British
retailer Tesco TSCO.L after the company said it might sell its
Asian businesses, while Osram OSRn.DE rose 14.9% on
speculation that sensor specialist AMS AMS.S could make a
higher offer to buy out the German company.