CAC 40
CAC 40 — Euronext Paris
Benchmark index tracking 40 companies listed on Euronext Paris.
About the CAC 40
CAC 40 is the benchmark stock index of Euronext Paris, tracking 40 companies. It is free-float weighted: each company's weight depends on the share of its capital actually available for trading.
Characteristics
Price history
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Historical performance
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Calculated live from Yahoo Finance closing prices (unofficial public proxy) — may be temporarily unavailable or delayed.
Track CAC 40 in your portfolio
Add the CAC 40 (symbol ^FCHI) to your virtual portfolio to track its allocation, performance and your simulated gains/losses alongside your other positions.
Add CAC 40 to my portfolioIndex composition
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Approximate weightings, for educational purposes (the top 10 stocks make up more than 55% of the index). Official, up-to-date composition on euronext.com — reviewed quarterly by the Index Scientific Council.
What is the CAC 40?
The CAC 40 (Cotation Assistée en Continu) is the flagship index of the Paris stock exchange. Created in 1988 with a base of 1,000 points on December 31, 1987, it tracks the 40 largest French companies listed on Euronext Paris, weighted by free float. Its composition is reviewed every quarter by the Index Scientific Council, which can remove or add a stock based on market developments.
How do I invest in the CAC 40?
It isn't possible to buy "the index" directly: investors access it through an ETF tracking the CAC 40 (eligible for the PEA tax-advantaged account for French residents), through futures contracts for more experienced investors, or by buying the main constituent stocks themselves. Each approach has its own fees, tax treatment and risk level.
Which sectors dominate the CAC 40?
Luxury goods and cosmetics (LVMH, Hermès, L'Oréal) alone account for between 35% and 41% of the index, a much heavier sector concentration than the S&P 500 or the DAX. Industrials (Schneider Electric, Airbus, Safran, Saint-Gobain) and energy (TotalEnergies) round out the top three. About 70% of CAC 40 companies' revenue is generated internationally: the index reflects the Paris financial center far more than the health of the French economy as a whole.
What are the risks and limitations of the CAC 40?
With only 40 stocks, the index is mechanically sensitive to moves in its largest weights: a drop in LVMH or TotalEnergies alone can shift the whole index, unlike a broader index such as the S&P 500. Its concentration in luxury goods also exposes the CAC 40 to Chinese and American demand more than to the French economy itself. Another often-overlooked nuance: the "classic" CAC 40 quoted in the media is a price index that doesn't reinvest dividends — so its headline performance understates the real return an investor actually earns (the "CAC 40 GR" version, used by most ETFs, includes dividends and shows a noticeably higher level over the long run).
How has the CAC 40 performed during past crises?
2008 remains the worst year in its history: the index lost 42.7% over the year, with a single session at -9.04% on October 6 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. During the Covid-19 crash, the CAC 40 lost about a third of its value between February 16 and March 15, 2020, with the worst session in its entire history on March 12, 2020 (-12.28%) — before recovering its pre-crisis level by April 2021. These episodes illustrate the volatility inherent to equity indices: declines can be brutal, but the index has so far always gone on to retake and surpass its previous highs over a multi-year horizon.
Price and chart data fetched live from Yahoo Finance via an unofficial public proxy: it may be delayed, temporarily unavailable or inaccurate. Composition and weightings are provided for educational purposes and are not a substitute for an official source. Nothing on this page constitutes investment advice.