European stocks open lower, weighed down by HSBC

Feb 21 (Reuters) – European stock markets opened lower on Tuesday as HSBC’s cautious forecast weighed on the main STOXX 600 index, while shares of French energy company Engie helped contain the decline after rising annual profits.

The continental STOXX 600 index was down 0.2% at 0806 GMT.

Investors were also awaiting the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.

Europe’s largest bank, HSBC Holding Plc, fell 1.2% as the bank’s dovish outlook had investors wondering if the effect of higher interest rates had -be not already peaked, despite quarterly profits having increased by 92%.

French energy company Engie SA rose 4.1% after reporting a sharp rise in profits in 2022, thanks to higher natural gas and electricity prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Engie shares lifted the European utilities sector index by 0.3%, making it the biggest gainer of the day.

Events in Ukraine have returned to center stage, ahead of a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he will outline the objectives for the second year of his invasion.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Spanish editing by José Muñoz in the Gdańsk newsroom)