European stocks lower ahead of Powell speech, banks weigh

 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 slipped 0.2% by 0716 GMT, with banks and miners leading the losses. Tech stocks extended gains after another record-setting session on Wall Street.

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. 

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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. 

Reuters