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CAC 40

A decade of trade: 2009 — 2019

How have the constituents of the CAC 40 fared over the past 10 years? Explore the chart below to separate the stalwarts and fast growers from the cyclicals and turnarounds.

The CAC 40 is made up of the 40 largest members by market capitalization on the Euronext Paris and according to the International Monetary Fund, CAC 40 members are more international than any other major European equity index, with over two-thirds of their business and employees based outside of France.

Given the size and multinationalism of the index, the CAC 40 boasts the second largest market capitalization of the major European indices and the second highest return over the last ten years, trailing only the German DAX. Continued uncertainty from Brexit has allowed the French index to outpace the FTSE 100 over the last three years, which it previously trailed.

Luxury names now dominate the index, which has left it more exposed to China risks, given that China like spending on overpriced so called fashionable clothing (don’t ask me why), previously had been banking and energy names that dominated the index.

CAC 40: 2009 — 2019

Graph shows CAC 40 performance year on year over the past decade. Additional companies can be added to the chart using the search facility and filters below.

The CAC 40:
A decade of trade

Alexandre Baradez

Alexandre Baradez

Chief Market Analyst, IG group

The CAC40 climbed 130% between its 2009 low and 2018 high excluding dividends. If dividends are included, the increase was 198%.

The French index enjoyed three distinct waves higher: a wave from 2009 to 2011 when the eurozone debt crisis burst, then another wave from 2011 to 2015 driven by the European Central Bank which poured billions into the Eurozone economy through Quantitative Easing, and finally a wave from 2016 to 2018 driven by macroeconomics and improving company earnings.

One of the best performing sectors over the last decade has been the luxury sector, which includes stocks like LVMH, Kering, and Hermès.