Paris - Inspired by a strong surge on Wall Street overnight and driven by bargain hunters looking for undervalued stocks, stocks on the Paris Bourse soared on Wednesday.

The CAC 40 blue-chip index finished the session up by a healthy 9.23 per cent, closing at 3,402.57 points. Thirty-nine of its 40 listed stocks gained ground.

Building materials producer Saint Gobain was the day's biggest winner, rising by 18.57 per cent, to 28.63 euros, despite substantial drops in building permits and housing construction starts in the third quarter.

Paris - A trader believed to have been responsible for a loss of 751 million euros (954 million dollars) to the French bank Caisse d'Epargne has been taken into police custody, France Info radio reported on Wednesday.

No details were available regarding the trader's identity or the charges he may face.

The loss was reported by in mid-October and incurred the wrath of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who demanded that the bank's senior managers "take responsibility." As a result, Caisse d'Epargne head Charles Milhaud and two other highly placed executives resigned.

Paris - Invigorated by a very strong rebound on Wall Street overnight, French shares were up sharply in early Wednesday trading on the Paris Bourse.

Marseille, France - Five models of the Nissan luxury brand, Infiniti, will be available in Europe from 2009 including the new G37 and the EX and FX Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

The G37 line-up will include the convertible which is scheduled for sale late in the year and celebrates its world debut at the upcoming Los Angeles Motor Show, featuring a retracting steel roof.

The G37 is powered by the same 320 hp V6 engine as the sedan and coupe versions. The basic model will sell for around 40,000 euros (53,876 dollars), according to the company.

The Crossover EX 37 will sell for 46,000 euros (62,000 dollars) with the longer FX costing an additional 9,000 euros (12,123 dollars).

Paris  - French shares were little changed in early trading on Tuesday following a roller-coaster ride as the mood among investors remained nervous.

The Paris Bourse's CAC 40 index was up 0.07 per cent, at 3,069.36, at mid-morning, with advancing issues outpacing losers by nearly 2 to 1.

Bouyed by strong showings on Asian markets, the index rose more than 3 per cent shortly after the session opened, but then fell into the red after a report showing that the financial crisis was now affecting the French housing market.

According to the Ministry of the Environment, building permits for the third quarter fell by more than 23 per cent over the same period in 2007, while housing-construction starts had fallen by more than 8 per cent.

Paris - Despite a steady early session on Wall Street, French shares began the week with another weak performance on Monday, with banking shares leading the decline.

The Paris Bourse's CAC blue-chip index ended the day off by 3.96 per cent, at 3,067.35, with declining issues outnumbering winners by about 12 to 1.