European stocks lower ahead of Powell speech, banks weigh

(Reuters) – A cautious mood prevailed in European equity markets on Thursday as investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s outlook on monetary policy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.stoxx> slipped 0.2% by 0716 GMT, with banks <.sx7p> and miners <.sxpp> leading the losses.

Tech stocks <.sx8p> extended gains after another record-setting session on Wall Street. [.N]

Investors will be looking for clues on the U.S. central bank’s new strategy for meeting its price stability and maximum employment goals amid a deep economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Powell is set to speak at 1310 GMT.

French advertising group Publicis rose 0.9% after bigger rival WPP said it had resumed its dividend after cost cuts and a switch to faster ad production helped it to beat dire forecasts for second-quarter trading. WPP shares jumped 4.8%.

German online takeaway food group Delivery Hero slipped 1.7% on announcing the acquisition of online grocery service InstaShop after almost doubling its revenues in the first half of 2020.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)