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* China-U.S. trade deal awaited on Wednesday
* LVMH at record high; UBS strikes upbeat tone on sector
* Taylor Wimpey rises after 22% jump in order book
* Oil stocks slip as BP, Tullow Oil slip after downgrades
(Updates prices)
By Susan Mathew
Jan 14 (Reuters) - A record high for Louis Vuitton owner
LVMH and a rally in homebuilder Taylor Wimpey
helped to push European shares higher on Tuesday, with investors
looking ahead to the signing of an initial U.S.-China trade
deal.
While most major country indices traded flat to lower, the
pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.3% after two
sessions of losses. The index had hit a record high last week on
de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions and hopes of a Phase 1
U.S.-China trade deal.
The deal, due to be signed in Washington on Wednesday, marks
the first step in winding down the damaging trade war that has
troubled markets for 18 months.
"We are still waiting for details on the trade deal... the
sustainability and the effectiveness of it is going to be judged
by the details, and there is probably an element to the market
of just waiting to find that out," said Craig Erlam, market
analyst at Oanda, London.
Andrea Cicione, head of macro strategy at TS Lombard,
suggested any indication of a time frame and possible agreements
that would entail Phase 2 negotiations would be the most
important takeaway.
Luxury stocks were boosted when UBS analysts said they were
expecting 2020 to be another busy year for the sector, supported
by consumer sentiment being at record levels and continued M&A
speculation. LVMH rose 1% to touch record highs.
Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey rose 3.9% after it reported
a 22% jump in its order book in 2019 and struck a positive tone
about 2020.
Germany's DAX index closed flat as a 4.7% jump in
payment's company Wirecard offset losses in healthcare
group Fresenius, which fell after the company said it
expected limited profit growth in 2020.
Oil stocks were the biggest decliners among the main
sectors in Europe. A 5% slump in Tullow Oil after a
ratings downgrade led losses, while BP slipped after
Berenberg said increased shareholder payouts will likely have to
wait until the second half of the year.
France's Total fell after the energy company said
it would move its finance department back to Paris from London
due to Britain's impending exit from the European Union, and to
reduce costs.
Italian tyre-maker Pirelli slid to the bottom of
the auto index after UBS cut its recommendation to "neutral" on
lower price-mix contribution and weaker volume growth.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick and Thyagaraju Adinarayan; Editing
by Anil D'Silva and Jane Merriman)
