Europe's main stock markets fell early on Thursday in the face of a further surge in bond yields and some disappointing corporate results.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 1.09% to 7,233.03 points around 07:45 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 gave up 1.42%, while in Frankfurt, the Dax was down 1.01%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index was down 1.03%, the FTSEurofirst 300 1.07% and the Stoxx 600 0.92%.

US government bond yields are up sharply, at over 4.15% for the ten-year, a nine-month high following strong employment data and higher-than-expected debt issuance forecasts from the Treasury.

"Increased Treasury auctions to meet long-term borrowing needs will not help reduce bond yields if the underlying economy (labor market, inflation) continues to resist a recession," reads a note from Société Générale.

In the wake of a session marked by the unexpected downgrading of the US credit rating by Fitch, attention now turns to the Bank of England's monetary policy decision at 11:00 GMT and to corporate earnings.

Technology giants Apple and Amazon will report after Wall Street closes, but in the meantime, many European companies have announced their quarterly accounts before the opening.

Société Générale gained 1.56% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, buoyed by its cost management and the strong performance of its ALD subsidiary.

Axa, on the other hand, lost 0.48% and Veolia 2.39% after reporting first-half results.

On the SBF 120, SES stood out with an increase of 13.26%, as the satellite operator planned a share buyback program worth 150 million euros after its second-quarter EBITDA exceeded expectations.

Among the Stoxx 600's strongest performers were Zalando (+2.46%), Merck KGaA (+2.83%) and Beiersdorg (+3.45%), whose results were well received. This was not the case, however, for Adidas (-0.68%) or Lufthansa (-6.8%).

Infineon fell by 10.41%, with the German chipmaker anticipating a slight drop in fourth-quarter sales. In its wake, STMicroelectronics

lost 4.72% in Paris.

On the macro front, the morning will be punctuated by the final European services PMI figures. (Laetitia Volga, edited by Blandine Hénault)