LONDON – European stock markets were on the rise in early afternoon trading on Friday, with the CAC 40 in Paris leading the way in the wake of an attack at the Louvre.
The French market gained 0.9 percent to 4,835.45, followed by the FTSE MIB in Milan, 0.7 percent to 19,015.15, and the FTSE 100 in London, 0.5 percent to 7,177.46. The DAX in Frankfurt edged up 0.3 percent to 11,659.91.
The euro traded at $1.08, while the pound fetched $1.26 and the Swiss franc equaled $1.01 at 2:45 p.m. CET.
On Friday morning, a French soldier opened fire on a machete-wielding intruder who tried to attack a security patrol on a staircase linking the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center with the museum, according to the BBC. The armed man yelled “Allahu Akbar,” during the incident, and French authorities have said they are treating it as a terrorist attack.
The incident failed to dent French stocks, with Kering and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton both up 0.9 percent to 224.75 euros and 189.10 euros, respectively, and Hermès up 0.4 percent to 404.95 euros.
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Carrefour rose 0.3 percent to 22.80 euros, while L’Oréal advanced 0.8 percent to 172 euros. Other stocks on the rise included Jimmy Choo, 1.5 percent to 1.52 pounds, and Associated British Foods, 1.6 percent to 24.15 pounds.
Among the stocks that lost the most ground were Hugo Boss, 2.3 percent to 58.73 euros, and Metro Group, 3.1 percent to 30.90 euros, after the group said that special items negatively impacted its first-quarter profits.