The flagship CAC 40 index ended slightly down 3.14 points to 7,545.60 points. During the session, around 13:30 p.m., the Parisian market set an all-time high of 7,581.25 points. On Friday, it was his closing record that had been beaten, at 7,577.00 points.

LVMH, Hermès and L'Oréal represent a third of the CAC 40 in terms of capitalization, these luxury companies "have become safe havens for the markets and this capitalization of LVMH is not surprising," notes Ilana Azuelos-Bossard, deputy director at Kiplink Finance.

The market capitalization of LVMH (+0.10% to 902.00 euros) reached 500 billion dollars - or 454 billion euros - which is a first for a European company, according to Bloomberg.

Earlier in April, in the wake of the publication of its quarterly results, LVMH entered the top 10 of the most valuable companies in the world.

"The performance of the CAC 40 since the beginning of the year has been largely driven by this sector, Hermès being the best performer, followed by LVMH and L'Oréal," said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.

However, a sense of caution dominated the markets during this session, before entering the heart of a week "quite decisive, rich in company publications and major indicators", says Ilana Azuelos-Bossard.

Markets await the release of US gross domestic product (GDP) growth, eurozone GDP and German inflation.

But it is above all the upcoming meetings of the US Central Bank (Fed), on May 1 and 2, that keep investors in suspense.

"The market remains very fearful" and expects a final rise in the key rates of the US monetary institution before a lull, says Ilana Azuelos-Bossard.

On 4 May, it will be the turn of the European Central Bank to meet. But for the eurozone, the prevailing idea is that the ECB is not at the last increase in its key rates.

In difficulty, the distribution group Casino has received a proposal for a capital increase from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky: an alternative, or even complementary, track to discussions on a merger with Teract, which also interests Intermarché. The group of Saint-Etienne origin saw its market capitalization fall to about 600 million euros at the end of March and is currently worth around 670 million euros. In Paris on Monday, Casino shares lost 1.62% to 6.37 euros.

© 2023 AFP