French equities advanced at the close of trade on Friday, with the CAC 40 index rising 0.98% to 7,543.21. The broader SBF 120 index also gained 0.90%, as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 250 to 209 on the Paris bourse, with 98 stocks unchanged.
The CAC 40 VIX remained flat at 18.96, marking a fresh 52-week high. Gains were concentrated in the consumer goods, basic materials and utilities sectors, while energy and healthcare lagged.
Among the CAC 40’s top performers, Renault SA led with a 3.63% advance to 29.43, followed by EssilorLuxottica SA at 2.44% to 161.35 and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE at 2.40% to 458.15. On the downside, Pernod Ricard SA fell 2.02% to 63.20, Eurofins Scientific SE declined 0.88% to 72.36 and Thales dropped 0.81% to 244.70.
In the SBF 120 index, Forvia led gains with a 5.12% rise to 9.04, while Lectra SA advanced 4.29% to 23.10 and ID Logistics SAS gained 4.00% to 338.00. Decliners included Ipsen SA, down 3.61% to 163.10, Soitec SA at 2.26% to 108.00 and Aeroports de Paris SA at 2.06% to 109.20.
Commodities retreated as gold futures for December delivery fell 2.11% to $4,565.59 per troy ounce and Brent crude for November delivery declined 0.66% to $87.94 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery eased 0.65% to $82.99 per barrel.
The euro weakened 0.49% against the dollar to 1.16, while the U.S. Dollar Index futures rose 0.45% to 99.54. The pound-euro cross held steady at 0.86.
