Investing.com – France stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Healthcare Equipment & Services Financial, Leisure Goods and Beverages sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.24%, while the SBF 120 index gained 0.25%.
The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were Alcatel-Lucent (PARIS:ALUA), which rose 2.27% or 0.079 points to trade at 3.560 at the close. Meanwhile, Renault SA (PARIS:RENA) added 1.55% or 1.29 points to end at 84.66 and Essilor International (PARIS:ESSI) was up 1.54% or 1.65 points to 108.90 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Kering (PARIS:PRTP), which fell 3.07% or 5.55 points to trade at 175.20 at the close. Vivendi (PARIS:VIV) declined 1.15% or 0.27 points to end at 23.23 and Total SA (PARIS:TOTF) was down 1.13% or 0.53 points to 45.84.
The top performers on the SBF 120 were CGG (PARIS:GEPH) which rose 4.53% to 5.52, Innate Pharma (PARIS:IPH) which was up 2.99% to settle at 8.280 and Sopra Steria Group SA (PARIS:SOPR) which gained 2.67% to close at 70.69.
The worst performers were Eramet (PARIS:ERMT) which was down 4.07% to 81.29 in late trade, Neopost (PARIS:NPOS) which lost 3.20% to settle at 46.16 and Kering (PARIS:PRTP) which was down 3.07% to 175.20 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 510 to 391 and 49 ended unchanged.
Shares in Essilor International (PARIS:ESSI) rose to all time highs; up 1.54% or 1.65 to 108.90.
The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 3.56% to 19.17.
Gold for June delivery was down 0.71% or 8.60 to $1199.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 1.40% or 0.70 to hit $49.39 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 3.04% or 1.74 to trade at $55.37 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 1.13% to 1.0883, while EUR/GBP rose 0.87% to 0.7324.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.82% at 97.72.