France's equity market closed in positive territory on Wednesday, with the benchmark CAC 40 index adding 0.47% to reach a new all-time high at the end of trading in Paris. The broader SBF 120 also advanced, finishing the session up 0.45%.
Sectors driving the session were Financials, Utilities and Technology, which collectively pushed the market higher during the day. Market breadth skewed positive: 274 stocks rose on the Paris exchange versus 204 that declined, and 82 issues ended the session unchanged.
The strongest performers on the CAC 40 were:
- Bureau Veritas SA (EPA:BVI) - climbed 3.99% (up 1.10 points) to close at 28.68.
- Dassault Systemes SE (EPA:DAST) - increased 3.41% (up 0.60 points) to finish at 18.02.
- Societe Generale SA (EPA:SOGN) - rose 3.17% (up 2.34 points) to end the session at 76.24.
On the downside among the CAC 40 constituents, notable laggards included:
- Pernod Ricard SA (EPA:PERP) - fell 7.93% (down 6.68 points) to close at 77.54.
- LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (EPA:LVMH) - declined 1.57% (down 8.80 points) to end at 553.00.
- Stellantis NV (EPA:STLAM) - slipped 1.33% (down 0.09 points) to 6.51.
The SBF 120's top performers were led by several large percentage movers:
- Eramet SA (EPA:ERMT) - surged 10.44% to close at 62.40.
- Ipos (EPA:ISOS) - rose 7.41% to finish at 32.78.
- SEB SA (EPA:SEBF) - gained 4.90% to close at 53.55.
Conversely, the weakest stocks on the SBF 120 included:
- Pernod Ricard SA (EPA:PERP) - down 7.93% to 77.54 in late trade.
- BIC (EPA:BICP) - lost 7.52% to settle at 52.90.
- Remy Cointreau (EPA:RCOP) - fell 5.94% to end at 41.20.
Volatility gauges showed the CAC 40 VIX unchanged on the day, holding at 18.96 and marking a new 52-week high.
Commodities displayed mixed moves. Gold futures for April delivery were up 1.03% (an increase of 53.34) to trade at 5,229.64 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for April delivery declined 0.29% (down 0.19) to $65.44 a barrel, while the May Brent contract ticked up 0.06% (up 0.04) to $70.62 a barrel.
In foreign-exchange trading, EUR/USD was unchanged on the day, quoted at 1.18 (an unchanged move of 0.30%), and EUR/GBP was unchanged at 0.87 (an unchanged move of 0.18%). The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.18% to 97.59.
Overall, Paris markets closed with gains led by Financials, Utilities and Technology, while select consumer and luxury names weighed on the indexes. Volatility indicators and mixed commodity moves were notable cross-market signals heading into the next session.