Positive German data, Airbus shares drive tentative gains in European stocks

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Oct 8 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher in early trading on Tuesday, helped by gains in Airbus shares and data showing an unexpected rise in industrial output in Germany, while caution prevailed ahead of U.S.-China trade talks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.1% by 0715 GMT, with most regional bourses trading higher.

The August data for Germany provided a shimmer of hope that an expected contraction in Europe's biggest economy in the third quarter would not be steep.

Airbus rose 2.2%, after the planemaker reported higher orders for the first nine months of the year, putting it well ahead of U.S. rival Boeing Co.

Also helping sentiment were shares of Nordic telecom companies Nokia Oyj and Ericsson, which rose about 1%, after a report that the U.S. government has suggested issuing credit to help the two companies compete with China's Huawei.

In a weak spot, shares of London Stock Exchange Group dropped 6.4% after Hong Kong's bourse dropped its unsolicited $39 billion bid for the company.

News overnight that the United States had expanded its trade blacklist to include some of China's top artificial intelligence startups kept investors on edge ahead of high-level trade talks this week. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)