BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were sharply higher on Wednesday as global manufacturing indicators showed expansion, the euro pulled back from a two-year high and investors pinned hopes on additional U.S. fiscal stimulus.
The benchmark CAC 40 jumped 106 points, or 2.2 percent, to 5,044 after edging down 0.2 percent the previous day.
Pernod Ricard climbed 3.1 percent. The spirits giant reported that its fiscal 2020 Group share of net profit from recurring operations declined 13 percent to 1.4 billion euros.
The company predicted a prolonged downturn in travel retail but sees resilience in sales to supermarkets in the United States and Europe and a sequential improvement in China and India in the year ahead.
Saint-Gobain shares jumped 3.5 percent. The company has acquired Strikolith in the Netherlands, a company specialized in the production of external insulation systems, interior finishings and renovation products and solutions.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX