STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Mothercare slides on UK retail woes

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14:10GMT 19Nov2008-Mothercare slides on UK retail woes

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Shares in baby goods store group Mothercare (MTC.L) fall 8.5 percent to 265.5 pence, ahead of the company's half-year results on Thursday, after British retailers Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) and Debenhams (DEB.L) say they will hold early pre-Christmas sales to stimulate trade -- another sign of the impact the consumer downturn is having on Britain's embattled retailers.

"The (UK) retailers are having a tough time at the moment and are being hit left, right and centre right now. I wouldn't expect that this fall (in its share price) is linked to Mothercare's interim results because they should be quite good," a retail trader at broker KBC Hunt says.

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