Dax stabilized | free press

2023-05-25 20:42:19

The Dax stabilized somewhat after a series of losses on Thursday. At the close of the market, it was still down 0.31 percent at 15,793.80 points, which was well above its daily low in early trading. Since the record high of 16,331 points on Friday, the leading German index had only gone downhill – on Wednesday the downward momentum had intensified given the possible US payment default that was approaching. The MDax for medium-sized companies even managed an increase of 0.03 percent to 26,786.37 points.

However, the hangover after the recent sell-off continues, commented analyst Michael Hewson from broker CMC Markets UK. Because the negotiations about an increase in the US debt ceiling are now likely to drag on into the coming week. In addition, Europe’s largest economy, Germany, surprisingly slipped into recession in the first quarter.

According to Treasury Department forecasts, the US government could default in early June if no agreement is reached and the debt ceiling is not raised. The dispute is also increasingly threatening the creditworthiness of the United States. The US rating agency Fitch has already signaled a possible downgrade of the world’s largest economy.

The price development on the European markets diverged somewhat. The leading eurozone index, the EuroStoxx 50, closed 0.1 percent higher, while Paris fell moderately and London fell more significantly.

The US markets presented a similarly mixed picture. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial lost half a percent at the end of trading in Europe, while the market-wide S&P 500 gained the same amount. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 even rose by more than two percent thanks to the price rally of semiconductor stocks after a strong sales outlook from Nvidia. Nvidia benefits greatly from the boom in artificial intelligence.

The shares of the chip company Infineon still lost 1.9 percent as one of the biggest Dax losers, thus continuing their weak development from the previous day. Analyst Stacy Rasgon from Bernstein Research praised the Nvidia figures, but also referred to a somewhat sluggish sales development in business with the auto industry in the wake of China’s weakness. This may have taken the wind out of the sails of the shares of the Infineon Group, which is heavily geared towards the automotive industry.

In the MDax, on the other hand, Aixtron rose by 1.4 percent, while Siltronic at the top even jumped more than eight percent.

At Fresenius, the initial buying mood did not last, although the group is becoming more optimistic about its drug and medical technology subsidiary Kabi – in the end the shares lost 1.7 percent.

The economically sensitive chemical stocks were also among the losers. Stock market expert Andreas Lipkow said a recession in Germany was now a foregone conclusion, which was putting pressure on the export-heavy sectors and consumer stocks.

In the again weak real estate industry, Aroundtown slipped to another record low. Baader Bank had downgraded the property group’s title from “buy” to “add” and stamped the price target from EUR 2.50 to EUR 1.15. They ended up trading 2.8 percent lower.

The Südzucker shares, which were already very weak in early trading, ultimately fell by a further 7.8 percent after the final business figures and the outlook for the group that were published afterwards – that meant last place in the SDax small-cap index.

Higher earnings forecasts, on the other hand, breathed life into the shares of IT service provider Cancom. They gained 1.2 percent. The adjustment of the forecast results from the fact that the acquired KBC is expected to make its contribution to the consolidated balance sheet from the beginning of June.

The euro remained under pressure and was last listed at 1.0716 US dollars, its lowest level in a good two months. The European Central Bank (ECB) had previously set the reference rate at $1.0735.

On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.48 percent on the previous day to 2.51 percent. The Rex pension index fell by 0.02 percent to 125.29 points. The Bund future lost 0.37 percent to 133.27 points. (dpa)