Europe close: Stocks end on mixed note ahead of Powell speech

European shares finished on a mixed note on Thursday as investors awaited a potentially key speech from US Federal Reserve President, Jerome Powell, scheduled for the next day.

"Ultimately, markets await the views of one man, with Jerome Powell due to appear in Wyoming tomorrow to bring clarity over how he sees the Fed policy reacting to the economic crisis," IG senior market analyst, Joshua Mahony, said.

"Crucially, there is a risk that markets have already priced in any hawkish tilt, with a dovish stance likely to move markets to a greater extent should Powell lean in that direction."

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.30% to 433.36, alongside a 0.39% rise for Germany's DAX to 13,271.96.

Gains in the latter came after official data showed the German economy expanded by 0.1% in the second quarter, beating analyst expectations.

France's Cac-40 on the other hand drfted lower by 0.08% to 6,381.56 and Spain's Ibex 35 by 0.15% to 8,187.5.

Investors were also digesting the minutes from the European Central Bank's last policy meeting in July which in the words of economists at ING showed that rate-setters could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

In equity news, building materials supplier CRH rose after a jump in half-year earnings.

Danish medical equipment maker Ambu surged after upbeat third quarter earnings.

Novartis slipped after saying it would spin off Sandoz and list the biosimilars unit on the Swiss stock exchange to create a European generics company.

Fortum fell after the Finnish utility posted a second-quarter net loss of €7.4bn, hit by losses at its German subsidiary Uniper.

Recruiter Hays made gains as it reported a jump in first-half profit thanks to an "excellent" fee performance across all regions amid a recovery from the pandemic.

Oil giants Shell and BP gushed higher as oil prices rose. Shell was also in focus after Ofgem fined the company for overcharging more than 11,000 customers paying its default tariffs.

Building materials distributor and DIY retailer Grafton however slipped, as it posted an increase in first-half revenues but a decline in profits as activity levels normalised following the pandemic boost.