The friendly stock market environment brought the Dax close to its record high at the beginning of the week. The leading German index rose by 0.65 percent to 17,037.35 points on Monday. On Tuesday last week, the stock market barometer reached its record high of almost 17,050 points. The MDax of medium-sized stocks rose by 1.42 percent to 26,095.34 points at the start of the week.
The stock market is currently receiving tailwind from the rally in technology stocks in the USA. This is driven by the hope of high future profits through the use of artificial intelligence.
However, the DAX is having difficulty sustainably breaking through the 17,000 point mark, wrote Konstantin Oldenburger, analyst at the trading company CMC Markets. Follow-up purchases were still missing.
On Tuesday, the ZEW economic expectations, an important German leading indicator for the economy, will be published. In the USA there are also consumer prices, which are the subject of great attention worldwide. The inflation data from the world’s largest economy, along with the labor market and other important economic data, are among the key indicators that the US Federal Reserve uses for its interest rate decisions. The majority of the market now expects the first key interest rate cut in May, as inflation has already fallen significantly.
Among the individual stocks, Siemens Energy shares climbed to the top of the DAX with a gain of 5.7 percent. They benefited from buy recommendations from the Spanish bank Santander and Bank of America (BofA). BofA analyst Alexander Virgo wrote that the group’s wind turbine business may have the worst behind it.
Rheinmetall was also one of the biggest winners with a plus of 3.7 percent. The arms company is in the process of significantly expanding its production of artillery shells. He also reiterated his ambition to double sales to 20 billion euros in seven to eight years, as boss Armin Papperger told the “Handelsblatt” in an interview. The shares of Rheinmetall and those of the defense electronics specialist Hensoldt generally continue to benefit from the prospect of increasing defense spending in Western countries. Hensoldt increased by 3.6 percent in the MDax.
According to preliminary figures for 2023, Nordex shares jumped by 10.5 percent, putting them clearly at the top of the index. The wind turbine manufacturer had significantly exceeded analysts’ average sales expectations. Expert Constantin Hesse from the investment house Jefferies spoke of a signal of robust business towards the end of the year. The results underpinned the improvement in operational development.
The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 closed with a gain of 0.65 percent to 4,746.35 points. The national stock exchange in Paris recorded gains of a similar magnitude, while the London FTSE 100 almost stood still. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial rose by 0.5 percent at the close of trading in Europe.
The euro gained. The European Central Bank set the reference rate at 1.0773 (Friday: 1.0772) US dollars. The dollar therefore cost 0.9282 (0.9283) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.37 percent on Friday to 2.38 percent. The Rex bond index fell by 0.15 percent to 125.17 points. The Bund future gained 0.07 percent to 133.51 points.
