The German stock market has risen again after the minor setback the day before. Eurozone inflation data provided a bit of a tailwind on Wednesday. The leading index DAX rose by 0.46 percent to 18,367.72 points. The MDax of medium-sized stocks closed 1.05 percent higher at 27,057.48 points.
On the first day of trading after the long Easter weekend, the DAX initially set a record of 18,567 points. Then some investors cashed in – in the wake of a somewhat weaker Wall Street.
Given the recent strong economic data, there is still uncertainty as to when the US Federal Reserve will lower the key interest rate. The ADP labor market data on Wednesday also point to a robust economy in the USA: The private sector created more jobs than expected in March. The data is an indicator for the U.S. government’s monthly jobs report due on Friday.
However, with a view to the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), clarity appears to be increasing. Inflation in the euro zone weakened surprisingly sharply in March.
Chemical stocks were in demand on the stock market: BASF gained 1.3 percent in the DAX; In the MDax, Evonik, Lanxess and Wacker Chemie rose by 3.8 to 7.8 percent. After the difficult industry year of 2023, analyst Samuel Perry from UBS bank considers the market expectations for Wacker Chemie for 2024 to be too low. Demand trends are improving, the expert wrote in a study.
Befesa’s shares topped the MDax with an increase of a good nine percent. Here, a media report about significantly falling zinc smelting fees drove up the shares of the industrial recycler.
The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 rose by a good half a percent. The French Cac 40 rose somewhat less significantly, while the British FTSE 100 remained almost flat. The New York Dow Jones Industrial gained 0.2 percent at the European close.
The euro benefited from weak US economic data and was last quoted at 1.0826 US dollars. The ECB had previously set the reference rate at 1.0783 (Tuesday: 1.0749) dollars. The dollar therefore cost 0.9273 (0.9303) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.40 percent the day before to 2.43 percent. The Rex bond index fell by 0.10 percent to 125.05 points. The Bund future fell by 0.11 percent to 132.24 points.