The CAC 40 index rose 0.72% to 6,589.35 points before a long Easter weekend, also supported by the luxury sector, a heavyweight on the rating.
Over the week, the Paris market posted a gain of 0.63%.
The European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed the end of its asset purchase program "in the third quarter", but remained unclear on its intentions regarding interest rates, again indicating that a first hike could come "After some time".
"The clock remains at the status quo: the ECB did not want to act today and is waiting to receive new forecasts for the June meeting. The evolution of inflation will determine the orientation of its monetary policy in the coming months", summarizes Ulrike Kastens, Europe economist at DWS.
The Frankfurt institution is now the most wait-and-see of the major central banks, while the war in Ukraine has given a sharp boost to prices with effects that could take hold over time.
The euro, which was up before the start of the ECB meeting, dipped below the $1.08 threshold for the first time since May 2020.
Hermès exceeds expectations
Sales of the French luxury group Hermès exceeded analysts' expectations, reaching 2.765 billion euros in the first quarter, an increase of 33% compared to the same period in 2021, despite the war in Ukraine and the confinements in China .
Hermès gained 2.68%, leading LVMH (+0.93%) which reported a 29% jump in first quarter sales on Tuesday, Kering (+1.43%) and L'Oréal (+0.63 %).
UK approves Valneva's Covid-19 vaccine
The Franco-Austrian pharmaceutical laboratory Valneva hopes that its vaccine against Covid-19 will soon be authorized in the European Union, after its approval on Thursday by the British medicines regulator.
The title, which had been suspended at the request of the company in the morning, ended on a jump of 9.90% to 16.77 euros.
© 2022 AFP