Investing.com – France stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Electronic Equipment, Automobiles & Parts and Oil & Gas Producers sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 rose 2.37% to hit a new 1-month high, while the SBF 120 index gained 2.20%.
The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were Valeo (PARIS:VLOF), which rose 4.58% or 5.00 points to trade at 114.25 at the close. Meanwhile, Essilor International (PARIS:ESSI) added 3.81% or 3.56 points to end at 96.97 and Cap Gemini (PARIS:CAPP) was up 3.75% or 2.20 points to 60.89 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Saint Gobain (PARIS:SGOB), which fell 0.48% or 0.16 points to trade at 33.38 at the close. Alstom (PARIS:ALSO) added 0.32% or 0.09 points to end at 26.89 and Alcatel-Lucent (PARIS:ALUA) was up 0.93% or 0.026 points to 2.835.
The top performers on the SBF 120 were Vallourec (PARIS:VLLP) which rose 4.80% to 19.53, Remy Cointreau (PARIS:RCOP) which was up 4.73% to settle at 59.61 and Plastic Omnium (PARIS:PLOF) which gained 4.63% to close at 23.86.
The worst performers were Ipsos (PARIS:ISOS) which was down 5.47% to 22.40 in late trade, AB Science (PARIS:ABS) which lost 3.05% to settle at 14.300 and Aperam (AMS:APAM) which was down 1.64% to 21.77 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 563 to 316 and 69 ended unchanged.
Shares in Valeo (PARIS:VLOF) rose to all time highs; rising 4.58% or 5.00 to 114.25. Shares in Essilor International (PARIS:ESSI) rose to all time highs; gaining 3.81% or 3.56 to 96.97.
The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 1.96% to 26.96.
Gold for February delivery was up 2.20% or 27.10 to $1261.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude Oil for delivery in February fell 1.63% or 0.79 to hit $47.69 a barrel, while the March Brent Oil contract fell 0.91% or 0.46 to trade at $49.41 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 1.61% to 1.1598, while EUR/GBP fell 1.13% to 0.7650.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.53% at 92.79.