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* U.S.-China trade deal to be signed this week
* Automakers fall on prospect of weak China demand
* Renault also hit by worries over Nissan alliance
* Weak UK economic data fuels rate-cut expectations
(Updates to close)
By Susan Mathew
Jan 13 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Monday as
carmakers took a hit from a Chinese sales forecast while the
London market outperformed after weak economic data raised
expectations of a Bank of England rate cut.
Auto stocks broke a four-day winning run to fall
0.9%. Renault led the fall, hitting a six-year low as
investors worried that the French company's 20-year cost-sharing
alliance with Nissan could collapse without Carlos
Ghosn to hold it together.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
(CAAM)earlier reiterated that auto sales are likely to shrink
for a third consecutive year in 2020, damaging the outlook for
European carmakers in one of their most important markets.
"We think autos are going to remain a drag for the
foreseeable future, but we see tentative signs of (China
demand), if not getting better, at least taking a pause from
getting worse," said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS
Lombard.
Germany's DAX index, heavy with auto and parts
exporters, registered a 0.2% decline as it retreated slightly
from the close to two-year high hit in the previous session.
A slide in bank stocks ensured Italy and
Spain led losses among regional peers.
After finishing last week up around 0.2%, the benchmark
European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2% to extend losses
to a second session despite a rally in global markets.
The index is down 0.3% from record highs last week, when the
mood was brightened by easing tensions between Washington and
Tehran and the prospect of the United States and China signing a
Phase 1 trade deal this week.
"Equity markets have gained major ground in recent months on
the back of the trade story, and now it seems that traders are
content to sit on the hands until the agreement has been made
official," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
European markets could also be catching up with a bit of
weakness in the U.S. market on Friday, said TS Lombard's
Cicione. U.S. markets fell on Friday after lower than expected
December U.S. jobs growth.
Meanwhile, data on Monday showed Britain's economy grew at
its weakest annual pace in more than seven years in November,
raising expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest
rates this month.
Britain's mid-cap index closed 0.7% up while a dip
in the pound supported a rally by internationally focused stocks
that helped the blue-chip index to firm by 0.4%.
Top gainer on the STOXX 600 was utility Pennon Group
after it said all options were being considered in response to a
report that KKR had made a bid for its waste-management
business.
Rating upgrades, meanwhile, pushed up shares of Avast
, Tullow Oil, Publicis and BAE Systems
.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru;
Editing by Catherine Evans and David Goodman)
