UPDATE 1-European shares flat amid intensifying trade tensions

European shares were little changed on Monday as investors shrugged off fresh concerns about U.S.-China trade negotiations and looming U.S. tariffs on European imports. A report on Friday said that the United States might limit Chinese company listings on its stock exchanges, fueling more U.S.-China trade angst ahead of critical negotiations next week.

Trade-sensitive technology shares were down 0.2%, after earlier leading declines on the pan-European STOXX 600 index. "It is quite strange for a Monday morning where we have got a lack of direction in general," said Helal Miah, investment research analysts at The Share Centre.

"We've also had a decent recovery in the last two to three days, so it could just be markets taking a breather at the moment." After falling in early trading, the benchmark European index was up 0.1%.

Equity markets rallied in September on cues of monetary easing from the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve, and on hopes of a resolution in an economically damaging U.S.-China trade war. JPMorgan raised its rating on euro zone equities to "overweight" on Monday, saying the bloc's battered stocks have been under owned and predicting an opportunity for them to bounce back.

The STOXX 600 index is set to close the month with a 3% rise, marking its third straight quarterly gain. However, the pace of growth has slowed substantially from a 12% increase in the first quarter of the year as concerns linger about the health of the euro zone economy as well as the trade war.

All eyes are now on an announcement by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is expected to grant the United States a record award allowing it to hit European imports with billions of dollars of tariffs in a long-running aircraft subsidy dispute. Shares in Airbus dipped 0.1%, as the WTO said the European planemaker and its U.S. rival Boeing had received billions of dollars of illegal subsidies in a pair of cases that have run for 15 years.

In a bright spot, HomeServe PLC jumped 3.8%, to the top of the STOXX 600, after RBC raised its rating on the British home repairs provider's stock to "outperform." GlaxoSmithKline gained 1.7% after its maintenance therapy for a form of ovarian cancer reduced the risk of disease progression or death.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)