European shares edge down as trade fears make comeback

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LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - European shares opened lower onWednesday after the resignation of Donald Trump's economicadviser Gary Cohn, seen as a bulwark against protectionistforces within the U.S. government.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5 percentin early dealing and Wall Street futures traded in negativeterritory.

"Gary Cohn’s departure rattled markets and equity marketslook set to fall on the open. Stocks have declined overnight inAsia and it’s looking like it will be red today on the open",Neil Wilson, a Senior Market Analyst at ETX Capital told hisclients in a morning note.

Most European markets and sectors were down, with Germany'sDAX falling the most, down 0.7 percent.

British plane engine maker Rolls-Royce was the bestStoxx index performer, surging 8.5 percent after saying itremained on track to meet its financial goals for 2020.

Second came Smurfit Kappa, after U.S. peerInternational Paper revealed the takeover offer it madefor Europe's largest paper packaging producer was worth 8billion euros.

The advertising sector took a hit after the Financial Timessaid P&G would cut agency spending by 1.25 billiondollars over three years. France's Publicis andBritain's WPP fell 1.9 percent and 1.6 percentrespectively.(Reporting by Julien Ponthusediting by Tom Pfeiffer)