New inflation data from the USA put an end to the recovery in the Dax on Thursday. The German leading index closed 0.23 percent lower at 15,425.03 points in the evening. The Dax had previously gained more than two percent in the last two trading days; Investors were hoping for an end to the US Federal Reserve’s cycle of interest rate hikes. But because inflation in the US remained largely stable according to Thursday’s data, some market observers believe that the Fed could raise interest rates again this year.
In the United States, consumer prices rose somewhat more than expected in September, while core inflation, which experts consider to be more meaningful, rose as expected. US inflation is proving to be more persistent than expected, commented analyst Ulrich Wortberg from Landesbank Helaba. “Against this background, interest rate expectations are unlikely to decrease.” The Fed can hardly be satisfied with the development of core inflation.
The MDax of medium-sized companies was also unable to escape the negative pull of trading on Thursday and ended trading with a discount of 0.67 percent to 25,290.96 points.
On the corporate side, takeover plans by Stabilus and Kontron in the USA were positively received on the German stock market – despite contrary assessments from experts. Stabilus papers ended the trading day with an increase of 7.7 percent at the top of the MDax, during which they rose to their highest level in almost four months. The automotive supplier wants to buy the US company Destaco, a specialist in industrial automation.
In contrast, the takeover of Bsquare by Kontron is, according to stock market investors, only small, but in need of explanation given the US software specialist’s ongoing losses. The shares of the Austrian technology company still rose by 3.2 percent in the SDax.
At the top of the DAX, Rheinmetall shares continued their recent recovery and rose by 2.7 percent. In the wake of the newly ignited Middle East conflict, the previously weaker arms stocks are in demand again. Last week, the Rheinmetall price fell to its lowest level since February, and since then the shares have gained almost a fifth in value.
The Eurozone leading index Eurostoxx 50 ended just below its previous day’s close at minus 0.06 percent at 4198.23 points. The French Cac 40 lost 0.37 percent to 7104.53 points. The British FTSE 100, on the other hand, held up better thanks to price gains from oil heavyweights BP and Shell and gained 0.32 percent to 7,644.78 points. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial fell moderately at the close of trading in Europe.
On the German bond market, the current yield rose from 2.72 percent the day before to 2.74 percent. The Rex bond index fell by 0.05 percent to 123.57 points. The Bund future fell by 0.59 percent to 129.10 points.
The euro came under heavy pressure from the US data and fell back below 1.06 US dollars. It was last priced at $1.0550. The European Central Bank (ECB) had previously set the reference rate at 1.0619 (Wednesday: 1.0604) US dollars. The dollar therefore cost 0.9417 (0.9430) euros.
