Emmanuel Duteil, with Europe 1 and AFP 7:14 p.m., November 02, 2021

The Paris Stock Exchange on Tuesday exceeded its historic closing record thanks to the economic rebound made possible after the hardest part of the Covid-19 crisis by the influx of liquidity on the markets and the improvement in health. The flagship CAC 40 index of the Parisian market reached 6,927.03 points at the close. It exceeds its previous peak established at 6,922 points on September 4, 2000, in the middle of the internet bubble.

The Paris Bourse set a new record at the close on Tuesday at 6,927.03 points, erasing a 21-year high after a spectacular post-Covid economic recovery.

The flagship CAC 40 index finished up 0.49%, 33.74 points more than the day before.

He thus beats his record at the end of September 4, 2000 (6,922.33 points).

Since the start of the year, it has grown by 24.78%.

However, he remains a hair below his absolute record during the session, at around 6,944 points.

Since the spring of 2020, money has been flowing freely on the financial markets thanks to the exceptional support measures of the central banks, which have injected around a hundred billion dollars per month for a year and a half for the European Central Bank or the US Federal Reserve.

"More liquidity, less financial stress" 

This abundance of liquidity enabled stock market indices to quickly catch up with the losses recorded in March 2020: the CAC 40 had fallen to 3,632.06 points at its lowest during the session on March 16.

"The action of central banks has benefited all the equity markets", assures Jean-Patrice Prudhomme, director of the allocations and management division of Milleis Banque.

In Germany as in the United States, the star indices have already improved their record.

"More liquidity means less financial stress, more financing at low rates and a return on equities much higher than that on bonds," he explains.

The markets were also boosted, from November 2020, by the arrival of vaccines against Covid-19 which enabled the crisis to emerge.

The huge stimulus packages implemented by governments have also benefited companies.

As was already the case in July, the very good quarterly results announced by a number of companies at the end of October enabled the CAC 40 to continue its ascent and dispel fears of more sustained inflation than expected.

Good values ​​in luxury

Another explanatory factor, the Parisian index is made up of stocks which have been particularly successful since the start of the year, in particular those of luxury goods which weigh more than a quarter of the price.

This explains why the CAC 40 has been doing a little better since the start of the year than the other major European or American markets.

The global luxury giant LVMH, which alone represents nearly 15% of the capitalization of the CAC 40, has taken 34% since the start of the year and Hermès 59%.

L'Oréal, which accounts for around 10% of the CAC 40, jumped 29%.

Industrial stocks like Saint-Gobain (+ 63% since January 1) and ArcelorMittal (+ 52%) have benefited for their part from the reopening of economies and the rise in the cost of raw materials.