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* STOXX 600 volatile in thin summer trading
* Travel & leisure sector hit by quarantine rules
* Bullish brokerage calls lift luxury stocks
* Real estate stocks hit by Unibail drop
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
Aug 17 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher as
China-exposed miners jumped on fresh stimulus for the world's
second-largest economy, but concerns about a resurgence of
coronavirus cases in the region kept gains in check.
Travel and leisure stocks fell 1.5%, continuing to
slide after Britain added France and other countries to its
quarantine list last week.
Adding to the sector's woes, Italy reimposed restrictions
like shutting discos and clubs over the weekend and Germany
declared nearly all of Spain, including the tourist island of
Mallorca, a coronavirus risk region.
British Airways-owner IAG fell 5.3% and
InterContinental Hotels, which runs the Crowne Plaza
brand, slipped 2.4% as Britain saw a fresh surge in COVID-19
cases.
EasyJet was down 4.6% on news it would close three
of its bases in Britain, while Ryanair said it would
reduce its flight capacity by a further 20% during September and
October.
"The trend of growing European new infections looks unlikely
to abate for now and could continue to weigh on sentiment,"
analysts at Commerzbank wrote in a note.
"We expect travel & leisure to be one of the last sectors to
recover from the pandemic," they said.
However, the pan-European STOXX 600 index ended
0.3% higher, with miners jumping 1.7% after fresh
liquidity moves by the central bank in China, the world's top
metals consumer.
Chipmakers also rose, while luxury stocks such as LVMH
, Burberry and Kering climbed
between 0.4% and 1.9% after Jefferies analysts said in a note
that the strength of their businesses in China could help them
to gain market share.
Pernod Ricard gained 3.3% after Barclays upgraded
the French spirits maker to "overweight."
Markets generally appeared to be in a holding pattern ahead
of August business activity data later this week, which could
shed light on the pace of an economic recovery, while the U.S.
Federal Reserve's policy minutes are also due on Wednesday.
France's Sanofi gained 1.2% after it agreed to buy
U.S. company Principia Biopharma Inc for around $3.7
billion. Healthcare stocks provided the biggest boost to the
STOXX 600.
Real estate firms took a hit as Europe's largest
property firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield slid 4.9% after
a media report said it was considering rights issue. The company
said no decision had been made.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun
Koyyur and Mark Potter)
