The flagship CAC 40 index advanced 0.23% or 16.92 points to 7,483.24 points around 10:05. On Wednesday, it had fallen 0.86%, its worst decline since late March and banking fears, which pushed it back below 7,500 points for the first time since mid-April.

Between Tuesday evening and the opening of the market on Thursday, 17 CAC 40 companies published their quarterly results.

For analysts at Natixis Research CIB, markets are adopting a "rather defensive mode" ahead of the meetings of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) next week.

"The good performance of quarterly results maintains the hope of resilience, even if the guidance (forecasts for the coming quarters, editor's note) also point to a slowdown," they add.

The earnings season has been rather mixed so far with Teleperformance, Dassault Systèmes and Kering disappointing on Wednesday. On Thursday, it is the publications of STMicroelectronics and TotalEnergies that are poorly received.

Corporate earnings have not erased investors' concerns about the economic slowdown in the United States and the risk of bankruptcy in the banking sector.

On Thursday, weekly jobless claims and first-quarter GDP growth figures will provide further indications of the health of the U.S. economy, ahead of the PCE inflation index due on Friday.

STMicroelectronics does not electrify

STMicroelectronics fell 7.17% to 39.24 euros. The group recorded revenue in the first quarter of 2023 up 19.8%, an announcement that did not surprise investors who had flocked to semiconductor manufacturers after Infineon's better-than-expected results in March.

In the same sector, Soitec slipped 9.64% to 137.35 euros, after quarterly results in line with and expectations and the announcement of the departure of the company's deputy CEO.

TotalEnergies in the desert

TotalEnergies announced the sale of its Canadian oil sands operations to SunCor for $4.1 billion as part of a strategy to reduce its carbon footprint. Its net profit rose 12% in the first quarter, slightly above analysts' expectations. Its share fell by 1.54% to 57.50 euros.

© 2023 AFP