The German stock market did not make any big moves on Thursday before and after the European Central Bank’s expected interest rate decision and closed little changed. The DAX ended trading with an increase of 0.1 percent to 16,906.92 points. The leading index therefore remains within sight of its record high of a good 17,000 points. The MDax fell by 0.25 percent to 26,075.58 points.
The surprisingly cloudy Ifo business climate brought little impetus to the stock market in the morning. This later also applied to the ECB’s interest rate decision. Despite increasing economic concerns, the monetary authorities did not initially give in to calls for an interest rate cut. The key interest rate at which banks in the euro area can obtain fresh money from the ECB remains at 4.5 percent.
There is consensus in the ECB Council “that it is premature to discuss interest rate cuts,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde after the deliberations. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lagarde said that an interest rate cut this summer was quite likely.
