At the start of the week, the Dax barely moved at all within sight of its record high. Today the leading German index closed 0.04 percent higher at 16,404.76 points. At times it was within 73 points of its record of around 16,529 points from the end of July. The MDax rose in early trading to its highest level since mid-September. Ultimately, the index of medium-sized companies ended trading 0.46 percent lower at 26,370.25 points.
There was no tailwind from the USA; after the brilliant November rally, investors there took a break. Fresh economic data also disappointed, with new orders from US industry falling more than expected in October. The hope of interest rate cuts soon had brought the DAX a profit of a good twelve percent since the end of October.
News from companies was scarce at the start of the week, with the exception of Continental. The group is putting parts of its automotive supply business to the test. Everything is possible, from the entry of an investor or a joint venture to a sale or an IPO. However, Conti ruled out a complete sale of the business. Continental also cut capital spending and promised higher dividends. The shares temporarily lost 4 percent, but narrowed the losses to 0.6 percent.
Some of the stocks that had performed poorly this year were in demand: the stocks of the online food suppliers Delivery Hero and Hellofresh, for example, rose by 1.4 and 2 percent respectively. The shares of the media group ProSiebenSat.1 recorded an increase of 2.4 percent.
Otherwise, the main movers were stock reclassifications. Fraport rose by 1 percent and temporarily climbed to an annual high. The investment bank Oddo BHF was more optimistic for the airport operator. 1
The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.08 percent to 4,414.95 points. The French Cac 40 and the British FTSE 100 also fell slightly. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial was around 0.4 percent in the red at the close of European trading.
The euro fell noticeably and last cost 1.0825 US dollars. Economic data published this morning confirmed the picture of a weakening economy in the euro zone. The European Central Bank set the reference rate at 1.0868 (Friday: 1.0875) dollars. The dollar therefore cost 0.9201 (0.9195) euros. On the bond market, the current yield fell from 2.44 percent on Friday to 2.38 percent. The Rex bond index rose by 0.23 percent to 125.48 points. The Bund future fell by 0.04 percent to 133.33 points.
