Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange fell again on Wednesday, but not excessively, penalized by the rise in crude oil, gas and rates.

Published on: 02/09/2026 - 10:47 Modified on: 02/09/2026 - 19:27

Like almost all European indices, the CAC 40 fell (-0.26%), losing 21.22 points to 8,280.63 points, in the average of the European Stoxx Europe 600 index (-0.24%) or the narrower Euro Stoxx 50 index (-0.11%).

The day before, the basket of 40 Parisian stocks had also fallen by 0.39% to 8,301.85 points, moving away step by step from its record reached on August 10 in the euphoria of the second quarter results (8,726.03 points).

Oil continued its journey towards the $100 mark with the resumption of bombing around the Strait of Hormuz. Around 7:00 p.m., Brent was trading at $95.58 (+0.98%) on the same trend as American WTI ($90.96, +0.82%).

Prices are also soaring on the natural gas side, the European benchmark having exceeded 75 euros per megawatt hour, a first since January 2023, ending at 73.50 euros at the end of the day.

Rates have soared again. French 10-year bonds now show a yield of 4.25% compared to 4.21% on Tuesday.

In three months, the “French 10-year” went from 3.60 to 4.25%, observes Nicolas Forest, head of bond management at Candriam.

The analyst fears an increase in the "spread" (the gap) with Germany, where for the moment rates are rising at the same rate, with a ten-year yield of 3.37% on Wednesday evening compared to 3.34% the day before.

The surge in rates is mainly due to "a more restrictive monetary policy", "a more dynamic business cycle" and "pressure on savings" with "greater investment needs", explain Natixis analysts.

Bond market agents also welcome “virtuous fiscal trajectories” and penalize States “whose signature quality deteriorates as electoral deadlines approach or as draft finance laws do not reflect the probity that the global context requires”.

In detail, STMicroelectronics (semiconductors) achieved the best performance of the day (+3.34% to 43.72 euros) at the same time as investors also regained confidence in technology stocks on Wall Street.

Outside the CAC 40, the semiconductor materials specialist Soitec (+1.31% to 112 euros) raised its turnover target for the second quarter after the close of the session.

At the bottom of the basket of 40 major French stocks, the automobile sector had a bad day (Renault -4.55% to 27.69 euros and Stellantis -2.69% to 4.51 euros)

© 2026 AFP

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