The CAC 40 (CFD ticker: FRA40) is the benchmark index for the stock market in France. This index represents the top 40 stocks in the Euronext Paris stock market previously called "Bourse de Paris"; the total market capitalization of this index in 2015 was €1.03 Trillion. The Euronext trading hours begin at 9 a.m. and run to 5:35 p.m. CET for the fixing, Monday-Friday. This index was created back in December of 1987 and it started with a base value of 1,000. This index is of much help to investors that want to gain a perspective on how France"s stock market is performing and the economic implications that come along with the performance of this index. France represents one fifth of the total economy of Europe, therefore, it is of great importance to investors to follow the behavior of the French index in order to gain insight of where the European economy is heading. CAC 40 represents stocks from a broad range of sectors, with a total representation of 35 sectors. The sectors in this index range from the tires sector, automobiles, chemicals, cyber security, steel, aerospace, and insurance just to name a few. The CAC 40 is the French equivalent of the DAX 30. The sectors that have the most effect in the index are the pharmaceutical sector with a 10% of the total weight of the index, Banking 10%, and Oil equipment and services with a 9%.
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