(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
* China in close touch with U.S. for Oct trade talks
* Imperial Brands, Pearson , Carnival slide on profit
warnings
* Healthcare stocks jump after Moody's report
(Adds fresh comment, updates prices to close)
By Susan Mathew
Sept 26 (Reuters) - European shares saw broad-based gains on
Thursday, rallying after encouraging comments from China on
trade with the United States came as a welcome relief amid
growth worries and political turmoil.
The optimism seemed to outweigh concerns about impeachment
surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump which pushed Wall Street
into the red. London's blue-chip index .FTSE jumped 0.8%
percent despite heavy falls in some stocks. .N .L
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 0.6%,
after weak purchasing managers' surveys, worries about Britain's
exit from the European Union and the impeachment probe into
Trump had pressured the index over the last three sessions.
"What we see is just market expectations, it is purely micro
management of the market," said Stephane Barbier de la Serre,
Macro Strategist, Makor Capital Markets SA.
"They sold yesterday and they are buying back. It is very
much algorithm trading."
Trade optimism was spurred by Beijing saying it's in close
communication with Washington and preparing to make progress at
trade talks in October. This came after Trump's overnight
comment that a Sino-U.S. trade deal could happen sooner than
expected.
Although investors are keeping a close watch on U.S.-China
trade moves, they are starting to price in the possibility of
trade negotiations continuing for a long time, and are nearing
the point of growing immune to developments on this front,
analysts say.
"If none of the external shocks hitting global manufacturing
and trade get much worse than it is already, households and
companies are likely to get used to the noise and risks over
time," wrote Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg.
Healthcare stocks were among the biggest gainers on the day
after rating agency Moody's said drugmakers with a major
presence in China would benefit from the country's growing
demand for drugs. AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L , Novartis NOVN.S and Roche Holding
AG ROG.S rose between 0.7% and 1.5%.
Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt COLR.BR jumped 7.6%
after a better than expected net income forecast. Some London-listed stocks saw steep declines after issuing
profit warnings. Education company Pearson PSON.L and tobacco
company Imperial Brands IMB.L both dropped more than 12%,
while cruise operator Carnival Corp CCL.L gave up 7.2%.
Dutch bank ABN Amro ABNd.AS was also among the biggest
drags on the pan-region index, hit by a money laundering
investigation.