French shares gain 0.02 pct on Thursday

PARIS, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- French shares edged up on Thursday, with the benchmark Paris CAC 40 up 0.02 percent, or 0.84 points, to close at 5,494.83 points.

Twenty-two of the 40 selected large companies gained in the day.

STMicroelectronics, a French-Italian multinational electronics and semiconductor manufacturer advanced 3.79 percent, the top gainers of the blue chips. French retail giant Carrefour rose 3.03 percent, followed by French multinational insurance firm AXA , which gained 2.04 percent.

French multinational luxury group LVMH went down by 1.49 percent, the top loser of the blue chips. French tire group Michelin lost 1.39 percent. French ophthalmic lenses producer Essilor edged down 1.30 percent. Enditem