Paris - One day after suffering the largest single-day loss in its 21-year-history, the Paris Bourse's benchmark CAC 40 rebounded modestly on Tuesday. The blue-chip index ended the day up 0.55 per cent, at 3,732.22, with as many advancing issues as there were losers on the day.
At mid-afernoon, French stocks appeared to rally, and had risen by nearly 3 per cent, but a downturn on Wall Street provoked a hasty retreat.
French-Belgian financial services group Dexia again led the fallers, down 13.31 per cent to 5.90 euros (8.03 dollars).
Early Tuesday, former Belgian prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene was named head of the company's board of directors and French banker and BNP Paribas executive Pierre Mariani became Dexia's chief executive.
Hopes for interest rate cuts helped industrials recoup some lost ground, with steel-product manufacturer Vallourec heading the winner's list, up 5.04 per cent, to 118.16 euros.
One day after purchasing the banking and insurance giant Fortis, BNP Paribas was among the day's advancers, its share price rising by 1.37 per cent, to 68.42 euros.
