CAC 40 Nears New Record, Boosted by a Surge of Results and Wall Street Rebound

Tense Trading Session Aimed at New Highs

The flagship index of the Paris stock exchange has reached a new one-month high during the session at 8,285.81 points, surpassing the previous record of 8,215.48 points set the previous day. This movement is taking place in a noticeably calmer climate, as the VIX, a measure of market volatility, has decreased by 18.63% to 16.95.

The backdrop remains influenced by the fallout from the U.S. midterm elections. The Democrats have regained control of both chambers of Congress, a political setback for Donald Trump. Wall Street surged on Wednesday, buoyed by a reduction in some uncertainties. At the close on Wednesday, November 4 at 10:00 PM Paris time, the Dow Jones jumped 3.03%, the S&P 500 rose 1.58%, and the Nasdaq 100 increased by 0.91%.

European stock markets are following the trend: the SBF 120 is up 0.82% in the session. The Paris rhythm is mainly driven by the wave of nine-month earnings reports released this morning.

Earnings and Target Upgrades Boost the Market

Legrand marks the highest increase on the index, rising 4.23% to 133.10 euros. The electrical infrastructure specialist has raised its 2026 organic growth target, now expected between 11% and 13%, following nine-month revenue of 8,329.4 million euros, up 19.5%. A notable rebound following a session where the stock had fallen by 3.5%.

ArcelorMittal follows with a gain of 3.48% to 57.04 euros. The steelmaker, however, reported a net loss of 391 million dollars in the third quarter, mainly due to the shutdown of its Ukrainian site in Kryvyi Rih. Nevertheless, the adjusted net result and earnings per share exceeded expectations.

Saint-Gobain gains 3% to 74.92 euros after finalizing the sale of Dahl in Scandinavia to Kesko for 1.5 billion euros. Bouygues advances 2.88% to 43.19 euros: the group has raised its annual target, despite a 569 million euro write-down on its stake in TF1 that affected the net profit. Safran rounds out the group with a 2.10% increase to 298.65 euros.

Technology and Defense Against the Current

The rare declines are concentrated on a few stocks. STMicroelectronics trails the CAC 40 with a drop of 3.58% to 39.42 euros, as the semiconductor manufacturer remains outside the general rebound. The technology sector has been shaken this week by heavy sell-offs in stocks linked to artificial intelligence and data centers.

Thales is down 1.71% to 223.60 euros and Kering falls 1.04% to 189.70 euros. In the energy sector, TotalEnergies loses 0.71% to 80.99 euros, with the company having increased liquefied natural gas supply agreements in recent days, notably in China and the United Arab Emirates.

Veolia limits its decline to 0.56% at 33.60 euros. The group has published its nine-month financials, marked by a 5% growth in the third quarter with 2026 objectives confirmed, and additionally announced two desalination contracts in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.