Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange continues its rise and records a new historic high during the session on Tuesday, benefiting from lower levels of oil prices after their fall the day before.
Published on: 04/08/2026 - 10:25
The CAC 40 index rose 0.37% to 8,645.67 points around 10:00 a.m. Paris time, shortly after hitting a new absolute record at 8,669.69 points. He thus erases by a few dozen points his last record dating just the day before.
On Monday, it had narrowly surpassed its previous historic peak which dated from the end of February before the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday after their sharp fall the day before, but remained well below the levels reached in July with the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
“Growing optimism that the United States and Iran could move closer to a resumption of discussions for a Middle East agreement,” caused the two global crude benchmarks to fall by around 5%, note ING analysts.
This decline in prices, even partially corrected on Tuesday, offers respite to European markets, particularly sensitive to the cost of energy, by reducing fears of a new inflationary shock likely to weigh on business activity and profits.
Donald Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran were taking place "as we speak", despite a denial from Tehran. For the American president, these discussions represent "the last chance" for the country to obtain a good agreement.
He had threatened a few days ago to "hit hard" the Islamic Republic, before announcing to suspend his plans for massive bombings in a new about-face, alternating several times in recent weeks threats and announcements of talks.
“With Iran still denying the existence of discussions and Donald Trump increasing his warnings in the event of no agreement, the context remains clearly conducive to a further rise in tensions,” underline ING analysts.
“Investors, however, remain cautious before the American employment figures on Friday and the first results of SpaceX as a listed company, two meetings likely to reshape rate expectations and risk appetite,” notes John Plassard, of Cité Gestion Private Bank.
“Technology remains volatile” with in particular “questions about the profitability of investments in AI,” he continues.
For the moment, in the table of values, securities linked to artificial intelligence stood out, the semiconductor manufacturers STMicroelectronics (+2.16% to 46.25 euros) and Soitec (+5.22% to 115 euros) gaining ground.
The shares of companies specializing in electrical infrastructure, which benefit from the boom in data centers, are also rising: Schneider Electric gained 2.53% to 297.45 euros and Legrand gained 1.52% to 136.55 euros around 10:00 a.m. local time.
© 2026 AFP
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