Investments vehicles can be diversified depending on the geographical area. However, thanks to computerization, stock trading has become international. An investor who lives in the United States may actively participate in the London or Paris stock exchanges. About the latter, here's what know !
The history of the Paris Bourse
It all began in 1141 when King Louis VII witnessed the first financial activities in France. At that time, bartering was mainly practiced. It was in order to bring together all the foreign exchange players in one place that the King decided to bring them together on the Pont-au-Change bridge.
It was only later, in 1540, that the city of Lyon became France's leading commercial centre, where many merchants operated. Then, in 1724, the Paris Stock Exchange actually came into being, after the bankruptcy of the Royal Bank. It was only after the move to Palais Brongniart that the CAC 40 was created in 1988.
In 2000, the Paris Bourse underwent a huge evolution by merging with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels Stock Exchanges to form Euronext, capitalizing all the best companies in Europe.
Euronext, an European stock exchange
Euronext, which was created by the merger of the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Lisbon stock exchanges, is a stock exchange system that brings together a plurality of companies.
However, Euronext is itself a company and can no longer present itself in the same way as it could originally.
Indeed, Euronext has merged with the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) to become NYSE Euronext. Since 2007, Euronext has been considered one of the largest companies in the world. That is why it is quoted on the S&P 500 stock index.
Since it is also a listed company, it must be acknowledged that Euronext has certain prerogatives. Euronext is responsible for the security and proper functioning of the stock market. This firm can also take care of the market development, but also of its transparency.
CAC 40, the Paris Bourse index
The CAC takes its name from the automation of the Paris Bourse. It means “Cotation Assistée en Continu”. The index is quoted on Euronext Paris and is the barometer of the French equity market.
The CAC 40 is the weighted measure in capitalization of the 40 largest companies among the top 100 market capitalizations of Euronext Paris. Investors participate in the stock market through brokers such as Boursorama, Binck or Bourse Direct.
Instead of buying a company's shares individually, an investor can buy the CAC 40 to mitigate the risk. By doing so, he is literally splitting his investment between the 40 best French companies.
Since its creation, the CAC 40 is in an overall uptrend. The fact that it represents the top 40 companies at any given time makes it an index with a bullish bias.in an overall uptrend. The fact that it represents the top 40 companies at any given time makes it an index with a bullish bias.