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* STOXX 600 pulls back from 4-year peak
* UK economy grows at slowest annual rate since 2010 in Q3
* Greggs jumps 17% after upbeat forecast
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
Nov 11 (Reuters) - Demand for defensive stocks helped
European shares recover from early losses on Monday as investors
grappled with issues ranging from violent Hong Kong protests to
an inconclusive Spanish election and weak data from China.
After falling nearly 0.5% at one point, the pan-European
STOXX 600 index closed flat, helped by a turnaround in
bank shares and gains for sectors considered safer bets
during times of economic uncertainty, such as food and beverage
and real estate.
London's FTSE 100 led declines among the major
regional indexes with a 0.4% drop, while stocks in Frankfurt
fell 0.2% and Paris rose 0.1%.
The exporter-heavy FTSE index was hit by a jump in the pound
after the Brexit Party said it would not contest previously
Conservative held seats in Britain's upcoming election, in a
boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Banks most exposed to Brexit news such as Royal Bank of
Scotland and Barclays jumped about 4%,
countering losses in some Asian-facing banks such as HSBC
and Standard Chartered, down nearly 2%, after
long-running Hong Kong protests turned violent.
Data earlier showed Britain's economy grew at its slowest
annual rate in nearly a decade in the third quarter, although
the economy dodged outright recession.
"While the UK is being kept out of recession by surprisingly
resilient consumer spending, the outlook for investment
continues to look challenging as we move into 2020," ING
analysts said in a note.
"For now, we think the Bank of England will probably avoid
cutting interest rates in the near term, although a lot depends
on Brexit, and whether the jobs market deteriorates further."
Ratings firm Moody's warned on Friday it might cut its
rating on Britain's sovereign debt again, saying neither main
political party was likely to tackle high borrowing.
The benchmark STOXX 600 rose to its highest in over four
years last week on signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks,
but investors are wary about a deal after U.S. President Donald
Trump said he had not agreed to rollbacks of U.S. tariffs sought
by China.
"With European equities now up over 10% from their August
lows, there is a case to be made that equity markets may be due
a pause," Morgan Stanley's Graham Secker wrote in a note.
"While it is perfectly normal for investor sentiment to turn
more quickly than the actual data, we doubt that we are on the
cusp of a meaningful rebound in corporate profits either here in
Europe or the U.S."
European miners took the biggest hit, down 1.4%
after data from top metals consumer China showed producer prices
fell the most in over three years in October.
London-listed shares of BHP Group slipped
2% after the company touted bullish plans to expand in oil and
gas, defying investors who want the world's biggest miner to
cast off the business.
Spain's main IBEX index closed flat after the
weekend's parliamentary election pointed to a legislative
stalemate.
Top gainer on the STOXX 600 was British takeaway food group
Greggs, which jumped about 17% after forecasting a 2019
pretax profit ahead of previous expectations.
Shares in recent stock market debutant TeamViewer,
gained 3.6% after the German software company reported a
near-doubling in core profits in the third quarter.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber and Mark Potter)
