Stock Markets February 20, 2026

Paris Stocks Climb; CAC 40 Reaches New Record, Led by Materials, Luxury and Exchanges

Basic Materials, Consumer Goods and Financials push French equity benchmarks higher as market breadth favors advancers

By Jordan Park
Paris Stocks Climb; CAC 40 Reaches New Record, Led by Materials, Luxury and Exchanges

French equity markets closed higher on Friday as the CAC 40 hit a fresh all-time high, driven by strong gains in basic materials, consumer goods and financials. Air Liquide, LVMH and Euronext were among the session leaders, while select energy and telecom names lagged. Broader market breadth favored advancing issues and volatility measures registered a new 52-week peak.

Key Points

  • CAC 40 rose 1.39% to a new all-time high; SBF 120 gained 1.32% - Equities, Indices
  • Air Liquide, LVMH and Euronext led gains while Orange, TotalEnergies and Danone lagged - Materials, Consumer Goods, Financials, Energy, Telecoms
  • Advancers outnumbered decliners 279 to 184; CAC 40 VIX was unchanged at 18.96, a new 52-week high - Market breadth, Volatility

Paris equities finished the session higher on Friday, with the benchmark CAC 40 rising 1.39% to reach a new all-time high and the broader SBF 120 gaining 1.32%.

Sector strength in Basic Materials, Consumer Goods and Financials underpinned the advance, lifting several large-cap names and supporting overall market momentum.


Top and bottom movers on the CAC 40

  • Air Liquide SA (AIRP) was the best-performing component on the CAC 40, climbing 4.80% - an 8.04-point gain - to close at 175.56.
  • LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH) added 4.37%, or 23.20 points, to finish at 554.70.
  • Euronext (ENX) rose 4.00%, gaining 4.90 points to end the session at 127.40.
  • At the other end of the index, Orange SA (ORAN) declined 2.15% - a 0.39-point drop - to settle at 17.75.
  • TotalEnergies SE (TTEF) retreated 1.64%, falling 1.09 points to close at 65.44.
  • Danone SA (DANO) slipped 0.70%, down 0.52 points to 73.60 at the close.

Performance highlights on the SBF 120

Within the SBF 120, Eramet SA (ERMT) led gains with a 6.25% rise to 48.98. Air Liquide (AIRP) again featured among the top performers, advancing 4.80% to 175.56, while Emeis SA (EMEIS) added 4.61% to end at 14.31.

On the downside, Imerys SA (IMTP) fell 6.86% to 23.64, Viridien SA (VIRI) lost 5.30% to finish at 119.60 and Coface (COFA) declined 3.82% to 15.60.


Market breadth and volatility

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the Paris exchange, with 279 stocks rising versus 184 falling; 100 issues finished unchanged. The CAC 40 VIX, a gauge of implied volatility for options on the index, was unchanged at 18.96 and recorded a new 52-week high.


Commodities and currency moves

Gold futures for April delivery traded higher, up 1.85% or 92.44 to $5,089.84 a troy ounce. In energy markets, April Brent futures fell 0.07% or 0.05 to $71.61 a barrel, while April WTI crude oil dipped 0.14% or 0.09 to $66.31 a barrel.

On the FX front, EUR/USD was effectively unchanged at 1.18, moving 0.09%, while EUR/GBP registered a 0.14% move to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.17% to 97.69.


This session’s price action highlighted concentrated strength among industrial materials, luxury goods and exchange operators, with mixed results in energy and telecoms. Market breadth favored advancing issues, even as implied volatility stood at a one-year peak.

Risks

  • Elevated implied volatility as measured by the CAC 40 VIX, which reached a new 52-week high at 18.96, could signal increased option-market uncertainty - Equities, Options markets
  • Selective weakness in energy and telecom names, including TotalEnergies (TTEF) and Orange (ORAN), introduces sector-specific downside risk within the market rally - Energy, Telecoms
  • Notable declines among certain SBF 120 constituents, such as Imerys (IMTP) and Viridien (VIRI), highlight the potential for outsized stock-level volatility despite broad index gains - Materials, Industrials

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