The major French stocks on the stock market
Before buying and selling CAC 40 stocks, find fact sheets about the major French stocks
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The Euronext Paris market where the major French shares are listed:
It is of course on the Paris Stock Exchange, known since 2000 as "Euronext Paris", that the major French shares are listed. The Euronext financial centre is in fact divided into several compartments, the first of which is the equity compartment with Eurolist, Euronext Growth and Eyronext Access, the bond compartment with different listing groups depending on the characteristics of these securities and the warrant and certificate compartment called NextWarrants.
The shares you will find on this market are also classified into three different categories according to their size, i.e. their total market capitalization. Thus, the largest French stocks are classified in compartment A of this market with a stock market capitalisation level of more than €1 billion. Next comes compartment B, which includes the shares of companies with a total capitalisation of between €150 million and €1 billion, and compartment C, which includes companies with a market capitalisation of less than €150 million. It should be noted here that the French stocks that you will be able to trade through CFDs are mainly those of Segment A or even some of the shares of Segment B. Note also that the composition and distribution of these sub-funds is reviewed each year on 31 December. It is also possible that a security may be excluded from a sub-fund to join a special sub-fund following a major event such as a bankruptcy.
Buying or selling the major French stocks on the CAC 40 stock market index:
The shares listed on Euronext Paris are very numerous and it can therefore be difficult for the individual trader to find his way around and choose the major securities to trade in. For this reason, it is recommended to monitor more particularly French stocks whose company is included in the CAC 40 benchmark index.
The CAC 40 for Continuous Assisted Listing is the main French stock market index. It was launched in 1987 by the Compagnie des agents de change and, as its name suggests, includes the share prices of 40 French companies listed continuously on the first market and selected among the 100 companies with the highest trading volumes. These companies are representative of various sectors of activity and tend to reflect the economic health of large French companies. Of course, the composition of this index is regularly updated since every quarter, a committee of experts meets to change its composition and to ensure that this index remains representative of the French market in terms of both transactions and floating capitalisation. Another French stock market index to know is the CAC Next 20, which has 20 additional companies that come just behind those of the CAC 40 in the overall ranking and are likely to replace the latter if the situation changes. To do so, however, these companies must meet certain strict criteria concerning the liquidity of the share, market capitalization and daily trading volume.
The companies that make up the CAC 40 index weight its value according to the value of their shares. The floating capitalization of each of these companies varies this weighting. Thus, when one of the CAC 40 stocks rises, this stock's weighting also increases.
The CAC 40 index is updated every 15 seconds from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 5:35pm. Its price is calculated as non-reinvested dividends, which makes it difficult to compare it with certain other indices with different calculations, such as the German DAX 30. More precisely, to obtain the CAC 40 index price, it is first necessary to multiply the last closing price of each share of the index by the total number of shares, then add the amounts thus obtained, then divide this sum by the divisor 184,629,565,030481, which is the equivalent of the total market capitalisation of this index at its first listing in 1987, and multiply the result by an adjustment factor K which depends on the various changes that have occurred recently, such as the transition to the euro or the issue of securities.
By choosing to buy or sell French stocks whose companies are listed on the CAC 40 index, you will be guaranteed to trade the major French stocks and will have greater ease in implementing your analyses and strategies. Indeed, CAC 40 stocks are the subject of the greatest attention from experienced analysts and traders and information about these stocks as well as up and down signals are legion on financial information websites or in the news of your online brokers.
How to determine the major French stocks:
The French stock market has many stocks that you can buy, sell or access from online trading platforms. But if you want to invest in these stocks over the long term, it is better to target the most volatile stocks, i.e. those with the largest annual fluctuations.
In the ranking we will propose below, we have therefore not taken into account the dividends generated by these shares, but simply their increase in value over a year. Because when you take a position on stocks on the stock market through CFDs, what interests you is of course the evolution of the asset price, much more than its profitability for shareholders.
We have also chosen stocks listed on the CAC 40 which are the ones you will find most often on brokers' trading platforms.
Where and how to invest in the main French stocks?
There are many ways to invest in French stocks from the CAC 40 or other French stock indices. The most popular ones at the moment with individuals are the following:
- The securities account: The ordinary securities account allows you to make investments by buying and selling shares as well as other stock market financial products such as mutual funds.
- CFDs: Finally, you can also invest in stock market derivatives such as CFDs or contracts for difference. These instruments allow you to take a position on the rise or fall of the stock market price of French or international shares without having to hold it directly in a stock market portfolio. The gain or loss here is the difference between the price at the time the position is taken and the price at the time it is closed.
The choice of one or other of these solutions for buying and selling shares on the French market will depend on your strategy and your investor profile:
- The securities account will be suitable for long-term or medium-term investors who wish to diversify their portfolio as much as possible in the stock market as well as for investors who wish to invest in mutual funds or ETFs.
- Finally, CFDs are suitable for investors who wish to speculate in the short to medium term on a wide variety of French equities and other assets, without having to hold the traded securities. They also require a high level of analysis of stocks and the market in general.
Whatever your choice, these two investment products will enable you to invest in French shares on the stock market.
