Europe open: Stocks slip as investors eye Powell testimony

European stocks slipped in early trade on Tuesday following uninspiring US and Asian sessions, as investors eyed a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell later in the day.

At 0855 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index was down 0.1% to 383.69, Germany's DAX was 0.2% lower at 12,536.24 and France's CAC 40 was 0.3% weaker at 5,392.67.

Jerome Powell's two-day Congressional testimony kicks off at 1500 BST. CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "He is likely to be quizzed on the likelihood of seeing another two rate rises this year and whether policymakers are starting to worry about the economy running too hot. He could also be asked if officials have concerns about the flattening of the yield curve and what the possible causes might be.

"Other concerns are likely to be around trade and whether the Fed has modelled any scenarios, around a significant trade disruption."

Meanwhile, Konstantinos Anthis, head of research at ADSS, said: "We know that Powell holds a hawkish view over the economy but the question is whether his outlook will be swayed by the prospect of a worsening relationship between the US and its trade partners."

In European corporate news, Casino rallied after the French supermarket retailer said sales accelerated in the second quarter thanks to an improvement in its core French market and in Brazil.

Thyssenkrupp was on the front foot after its chairman quit, raising expectations of a restructuring at the company.

Swedish medical technology company Getinge surged after a sales update, while in London, Royal Mail was a high riser after saying it was monitoring the impact of new data regulations on customers as letter volumes declined faster that trading was in line with its expectations.

On the downside, Norway's Telenor fell after its second-quarter results fell short of expectations and Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna was under the cosh after the power tools maker's second-quarter numbers missed forecasts.