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* Unilever logs worst fall since July 2008
* Airbus up as Boeing to suspend 737 MAX production
* Hard Brexit fears dampen UK domestic stocks
(Adds comments, updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 17 (Reuters) - European shares bucked a four day winning
streak on Tuesday, weighed by Unilever after a sales warning,
while fears that Britain will take a hard line on the Brexit
transition kept investors on edge.
The pan-European stocks index pulled back from
record highs hit in the previous session, falling 0.7%.
Europe's personal and household goods sector tumbled
2.6%, the most among regional subsectors, while also logging its
worst day since early October.
Weighing on the sector was consumer goods giant Unilever
, which slid 6.4% after it warned that 2019
sales would grow less than it had expected, citing tough trading
conditions in West Africa and a slowdown in south Asia.
Domestically focused UK stocks also slipped from
all-time highs after reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson
would use his control of parliament to rule out any extension of
the Brexit transition beyond 2020.
British banks Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays
and Lloyds Banking Group dropped.
"Given the short amount of time that Johnson has to agree a
deal, investors are probably worried that a no-deal Brexit is
not off the table," said Simona Gambarini, markets economist at
Capital Economics in London.
London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index held steady, aided
by a weaker pound. Data showed British employers unexpectedly
took on more staff in the three months before the country's Oct.
31 Brexit deadline, suggesting the labour market was retaining
some of its strength.
Global equity markets have had a record run recently,
encouraged by a phase one trade deal between the United States
and China and by Johnson's election victory last week, which
raised hopes of an orderly British exit from the European Union.
However, a lack of clarity over the details of the
U.S.-China trade deal dampened initial optimism.
"Phase one of the trade deal has been cut but all the
details aren't very clear," ING analysts said in a note, citing
contradictory stances held by officials from both sides over
future tariff reductions.
Airbus rose 1.8% after Boeing said it would
suspend production of its 737 MAX jetliner in January. Shares in
aircraft-parts maker Safran fell about 1.5%.
NMC Health Plc tumbled 32.4% to the bottom of the
STOXX 600, after U.S. short-seller Muddy Waters acquired a short
position in the healthcare provider.
Austrian speciality steelmaker Voestalpine fell 2%
after it cut its full-year profit forecast and said it planned
to lower its dividend payment.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru
and Sruthi Shankar in London, editing by Gareth Jones, Larry
King and Giles Elgood)
