* STOXX 600 ends up 0.4 percent
    * Trade-sensitive autos lead gainers
    * Investec rallies on demerger plan
    * Casino lifted as Kepler note reassures

 (For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
    By Helen Reid
    LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Gains among tech, auto and
mining stocks pushed European shares higher on Friday, as hopes
of new trade talks between the United States and China boosted
investor sentiment.
    The pan-European STOXX 600 ended up 0.4 percent, scoring its
strongest weekly gains in seven weeks. 
    Analysts and traders saw new trade talks as a positive for
the market, with some expecting U.S. President Donald Trump to
seek to seal a trade deal before mid-term elections in November,
but they pointed to lingering nerves in the market.
    However, after European markets closed, shares in the United
States turned lower after a Bloomberg report said Trump had
asked aides to proceed with tariffs on $200 billion more in
Chinese imports.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1W014Q urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1W0158       
    Topping the STOXX was bank and asset manager Investec
 INVP.L  which jumped 8.4 percent after saying it would demerge
and separately list its asset management arm.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1W013N
    Casino  CASP.PA , whose stock price has been hit by concerns
over its debts and that of parent Rallye  GENC.PA , bounced 6.8
percent after a reassuring note from brokerage firm
Kepler-Cheuvreux.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1W026X
    Autos rose 1.4 percent, leading sectoral gainers and
building on the previous session's rise.
    Miners rose 1 percent and tech gained 0.7 percent.
    Among tech stocks, STMicro  STM.MI  rose 1.9 percent after
Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "neutral".
    "We think the shares are pricing in a significant amount of
negative sentiment with regards to near term demand," the U.S.
bank wrote. It also affirmed its buy rating on both Infineon
 IFXGn.DE  and ASML  ASML.AS .  
    UK housebuilders Taylor Wimpey  TW.L  and Barratt
Development  BDEV.L  fell sharply after Bank of England governor
Mark Carney was reported in the Times as having told ministers
that a no-deal Brexit could cause house prices to fall by 35
percent over three years.
    Their stocks recovered ground to end slightly up after
Carney clarified that the bank's "stress test" scenarios in
which house prices fell sharply did not amount to a prediction
from the BoE.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL9N1UT00K
    Elsewhere, Danske Bank  DANSKE.CO  fell 1 percent after the
Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. law enforcement agencies
are investigating the bank over allegations of money laundering
through Estonia. The bank declined to comment.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1VW469
    Investors have been shunning European stocks in favour of
U.S. stocks this year, lured by significantly stronger earnings
growth there. 
    Overall the market is currently short European equities,
according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. 
    Some $57 billion has flowed out of European equity funds
over the past six months, strategists at the U.S. bank said,
citing EPFR data. 

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europe euro zone US earnings growth    https://reut.rs/2p591eb
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 (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Alison Williams)
 ((mailto:Helen.Reid@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 0402;))