Investing.com – France stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Foods & Drugs, Gas & Water and General Financial sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 added 1.11% to hit a new 52-week high, while the SBF 120 index added 0.94%.
The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA (PA:SGOB), which rose 2.92% or 1.39 points to trade at 49.04 at the close. Meanwhile, Air Liquide SA (PA:AIRP) added 2.91% or 3.80 points to end at 134.35 and Orange SA (PA:ORAN) was up 2.84% or 0.28 points to 10.20 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were STMicroelectronics NV (PA:STM), which fell 2.61% or 0.78 points to trade at 29.11 at the close. Worldline SA (PA:WLN) declined 1.95% or 1.46 points to end at 73.50 and Safran SA (PA:SAF) was down 1.75% or 2.15 points to 121.05.
The top performers on the SBF 120 were Iliad (PA:ILD) which rose 3.47% to 156.40, Virbac SA (PA:VIRB) which was up 3.00% to settle at 223.00 and Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA (PA:SGOB) which gained 2.92% to close at 49.04.
The worst performers were Maisons du Monde SAS (PA:MDM) which was down 5.75% to 17.53 in late trade, Eramet SA (PA:ERMT) which lost 3.66% to settle at 55.20 and Lagardere SCA (PA:LAGA) which was down 3.15% to 23.34 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 345 to 256 and 69 ended unchanged.
Shares in Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA (PA:SGOB) rose to 3-years highs; up 2.92% or 1.39 to 49.04. Shares in Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA (PA:SGOB) rose to 3-years highs; up 2.92% or 1.39 to 49.04.
The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was unchanged 0% to 18.96 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.24% or 4.10 to $1721.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.48% or 0.31 to hit $64.32 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 0.46% or 0.31 to trade at $67.83 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.13% to 1.1913, while EUR/GBP fell 0.01% to 0.8561.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 91.912.