* Just Eat rises after Takeaway.com's upbeat quarterly
report
* Bookmaker GVC as it raises FY forecast again
* U.S.-China trade talks set to resume on Thursday
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Upbeat corporate earnings boosted European
stocks on Wednesday after a 1% drop in the previous session, but
sentiment remained fragile as the U.S. and China head into
critical trade talks and Britain's smooth EU exit remains
doubtful.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% after
a sluggish start to the session. All major country indexes were
higher, with Frankfurt shares leading gains.
The export-heavy FTSE 100 blue-chip index
underperformed peers after sterling jumped on a report that the
European Union was ready to agree to a major concession in
Brexit negotiations.
"Markets appear to be making the calculation that even if no
(Brexit) deal is agreed by the end of the week or the month, an
extension will happen, and a no-deal Brexit avoided, at least in
the short term," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said.
The deeply uncertain future for Brexit, coupled with
mounting concerns around an economically-damaging Sino-U.S.
trade war, has knocked about 3% off the benchmark index in
October, erasing all it's September gains.
Washington's move to impose visa restrictions on Chinese
officials late on Tuesday aggravated worries after the addition
of more Chinese companies to a U.S. trade blacklist, making
investors skeptical of a quick resolution to the protracted
trade war.
Talks between the world's top two economies are set to
resume on Thursday.
Companies with strong earnings reports were leading gains on
the STOXX 600 index. British bookmaker GVC rose 3.9%
after raising its full-year core earnings forecast for the
second time in three months.
Dutch online food delivery company Takeaway.com
gained 0.4%, as it reported an 87% increase in third-quarter
orders.
The news pushed up shares of peers Just Eat and
Delivery Hero by 1.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
Still, demand for healthcare, telecoms and
real estates stocks - commonly considered defensive
sectors - indicated caution among investors.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
