European shares end week with their worst day of the month

European shares ended the week with their worst day this month as a clutch of fairly upbeat economic data on Friday failed to assuage investor concerns about a setback in Sino-U.S. trade talks after China’s rebuke over a U.S. law on Hong Kong.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4%, but still posted its biggest weekly gain in three on a boost from positive trade headlines in earlier sessions.

Trade-sensitive miners and auto parts makers shed more than 1% each on Friday, while export-laden Frankfurt shares dipped 0.1% even as unemployment in Germany - Europe’s powerhouse - unexpectedly declined in November.

Investors also shrugged off data showing euro zone inflation accelerated faster than expected in November, as analysts warned the figures were unlikely to suggest that a wider economic downturn in the trading bloc was bottoming out.

European shares crawled toward a record high earlier this week on signs of progress in U.S.China trade negotiations, but sentiment dulled on Thursday as a U.S. law backing pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong drew a warning of “firm counter measures” from Beijing.

Traders had earlier expected an initial trade agreement to be signed by mid-November. In the absence of a deal, U.S. tariffs are due to take effect on Chinese imports on the 15 December.

Asian shares slipped, knocking a global stock index off its path to hitting an all-time peak as investors turned cautious, fearing a new U.S. law backing Hong Kong protesters could torpedo efforts to end the U.S.-China trade war.

MSCI All Country world index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was down 0.39% at 548.48, less than 0.4% away from all-time peak hit in January last year before the start of U.S.China trade war.

Oil prices were little changed on Friday but look set to have one of the best performances in recent months in November, with Brent futures up almost 5.5% month-on-month, which would be the biggest gain since April.