European shares fall as growth worries linger; AMS\, Stanchart rise

European shares fell in early trade on Tuesday as a decline by banks and weak China factory data offset a surge in shares of chipmaker AMS... The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged lower -- and most major indices fell except London's FTSE 100, which was little changed.

China's manufacturing activity failed to meet expectations, underscoring weakness in the world's second-largest economy.

(SOUNDBITE) (German) HEAD OF CAPITAL MARKET ANALYSIS AT BAADER BANK ROBERT HALVER SAYING: "It is about the issues.

If the U.S. really does settle its trade war with China - that would be a good thing for the markets." Banks were the biggest weight on the STOXX 600.

Danske Bank, caught up in a money-laundering scandals, fell more than 6 percent after lowering its outlook for 2019... But Standard Chartered advanced after announcing plans for up to $1 billion of share buybacks, its first in at least 20 years.

Airbus slipped after the European planemaker reported a heavy drain on cash.... ....which overshadowed slightly higher-than-expected core first-quarter profits.

BP's first quarter profits fell by nearly a third - the first major dent in BP's steady recovery over the past 18 months.... though shares were slightly up in early trade.

Among the bright spots, chipmaker AMS jumped 16 percent, after it beat forecasts for first-quarter profit and gave an upbeat outlook for the second quarter.

An Apple supplier, the AMS results came before Apple's quarterly report, due late on Tuesday.