Europe's main stock markets were trading in mixed order, but with small gaps at the start of the session on Thursday, as offensive speeches by leading central bankers limited risk-taking.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.15% to 7,297.36 points around 07:45 GMT, buoyed by Renault's sharp rise.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.22%, while in Frankfurt, the Dax was down 0.04%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.01%. The FTSEurofirst 300 and Stoxx 600 dropped 0.06%.

With the exception of the Governor of the Bank of Japan, the central bankers present at the ECB's annual forum in Portugal adopted a hawkish tone, suggesting that interest rates would probably have to rise further.

This was again the message hammered home by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a speech in Madrid.

"There's no real surprise, which explains why stock markets haven't really fallen, even though the message is 'hawkish'", said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP.

Investors are now awaiting at 12:00 GMT the first estimate of June inflation in Germany, ahead of Friday's release of the US PCE price index.

On the value side, Renault climbed 4.99% after announcing before the opening that it had revised its annual forecasts upwards thanks to demand for its new family models.

Luxury goods giant Kering (-0.59%), on the other hand, was downgraded by HSBC to "hold" from "buy".

On the SBF 120, Orpea, whose trading was suspended on Wednesday, dropped 16.56%. The heavily indebted group's restructuring plan has been approved by a majority of the classes of parties affected, and will shortly be presented to the courts.

The fall was even heavier for Casino , down 30.07%, after it warned shareholders of the risk of massive dilution of their investment as part of its debt restructuring.

SES Imagotag shares jumped 12.03%, as the e-tag specialist appointed its advisors to alert the AMF to the numerous regulatory breaches it believes Gotham City Research has committed, accusing it of accounting manipulations.

Elsewhere in Europe, H&M gained 10.38% after reporting a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit. (Laetitia Volga, edited by Kate Entringer)