Euro Stoxx 50 vs CAC 40: What Each Index Really Tracks

The Euro Stoxx 50 and the CAC 40 often move in the same direction on the same day, and many French companies belong to both. So is there any point in learning the difference? Yes: they measure different things, and that changes how you read them.

Two indices side by side

	CAC 40	Euro Stoxx 50
Members	40 companies listed in Paris	50 leaders from euro-area countries
Provider	Euronext	STOXX
Weighting	Free-float market cap	Free-float market cap
Cap per stock	15%	10%
Headline type	Price index	Price index
Cash hours (Paris time)	09:00–17:30	Follows the member exchanges, 09:00–17:30

Both are price indices, so both drop mechanically when members pay dividends (see ex-dividend dates and index prices).

How the Euro Stoxx 50 is chosen

STOXX starts from the largest companies in each economic super-sector across the euro area and selects the leaders. The result is a multi-country index: French and German companies usually make up the biggest share, followed by the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Companies from countries outside the euro area (the United Kingdom or Switzerland, for example) are not eligible.

Where the overlap ends

Because several large French groups sit in both indices, a big move in one of them shows up in both. The differences come from what each index has that the other does not:

• Only in the Euro Stoxx 50: large German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian names, such as semiconductor-equipment makers, banks and utilities from those markets.
• Only in the CAC 40: mid-sized French companies that are not sector leaders at euro-area level.
• Different caps: the 10% cap in the Euro Stoxx 50 limits any single giant more tightly than the CAC 40's 15%.

So on a day when a Dutch tech heavyweight falls on its results, the Euro Stoxx 50 can lag the CAC 40. On a day when French luxury drops, the CAC 40 usually feels it more.

Which one should a beginner study?

Neither is "better". A few practical criteria:

1. What drives your analysis? Following French company news fits the CAC 40; following euro-area themes (ECB decisions, regional growth) fits the Euro Stoxx 50. Our article on ECB decisions and European indices explains why rate news hits both.
2. What does one point cost on your instrument? The two indices sit at different levels, so a 1% move is a different number of points. Read the contract specification and size from the stop with the lot size calculator.
3. What are the costs? Compare the spread or commission in points against your typical stop. A cost that is small next to a wide stop can be large next to a tight one.

A quick comparison of a 1% move

Suppose, for illustration only, one index stands at 5,000 points and the other at 8,000.

Level	1% move	Risk €100 with a stop at 0.5%
5,000	50 points	25-point stop → €4 per point
8,000	80 points	40-point stop → €2.50 per point

Illustrative calculation, not an expectation of results. The same percentage risk gives a different size per point: that is why size is always derived from the stop. Check the result with the risk-reward calculator.

In one sentence

The CAC 40 is France's market; the Euro Stoxx 50 is the euro area's leaders, with a tighter cap. Learn what the CAC 40 is first, then the differences above. Trading involves risk, and most retail traders lose money.