CAC 40 - Euronext Paris Benchmark Index

What is the CAC 40?

The CAC 40 is a stock index which contains 40 stocks that represent the many industries within the French markets.  These 40 stocks are traded on the Euronext Paris formerly known as the Paris Bourse and are some of the highest market cap stocks on the exchange.  The CAC is the French version of the Dow Jones Average. 

History of CAC 40

The CAC 40 was first released on December 21, 1987 with a base value of 1,000.  The index is reviewed quarterly by the Index Steering Committee and each company is ranked by the free float market capitalization system and the share turnover for the previous 12 months.  Each company must maintain a specific market cap relative to the share price and the number of shares outstanding.

CAC 40 News Events

• December 31, 1987 - CAC 40 began tracking the Paris Bourse with a base value of 1,000
• September 4, 2000 - CAC 40 hit an all-time high of 6,922.23
• October 6, 2008 - CAC 40 had worst percentage point drop of 9.04%

Components of the CAC 40

Below is the list of components of the CAC 40 as of 0ctober 22, 2008.

AC - Accor
AF - Air France
AI - Air Liquide
ALU - Alcatel-Lucent
ALO - Alstom
MTP - ArcelorMittal
CS - AXA
BNP - BNP Paribas
EN - Bouygues
CAP - Cap Gemini
CA - Carrefour
ACA - Credit Argicole
BN - Danone
DX - Dexia
EAD - EADS
EDF - EDF
EF - Essilor International
FTE - France Telecom
OR - L'Oreal
LG - Lafarge
MMB - Lagardere SCA N
MC - LVMH
ML - Michelin
RI - Pernod Ricard
UG - Peugeot
PP - PPR
RNO - Renault
SGO - Saint Gobain
SAN - Sanofi-Aventis
SU - Schneider Electric
GLE - STE Generale
STM - STMicroelectronics
FP - Total
UL - Unibail-Rodamco
VK - Vallourec
VIE - Veolia Environment
DG - Vinci
VIV - Vivendi

CAC 40 Chart Example

Below is a chart of example of the CAC 40.  Look at the plunge the index took during the credit crisis of 2008.