French Stocks Soars to Record High

The CAC 40 soared to a record high, rising by 0.40% to reach the 8,238 level on Thursday, extending the increase for the third consecutive session ahead of a long weekend.

Investors' focus, however, remained on the slew of economic releases scheduled on Friday, including March’s consumer and producer inflation data and the US core PCE price index, to ascertain the Federal Reserve’s timing of rate cuts.

Most index heavyweights posted gains, with notable increases from LVMH (0.8%), Hermes (0.5%), TotalEnergies (0.5%), Christian Dior (1%), and Airbus (0.3%).