After mixed trading days, the Dax is heading for a strong end to the week on Friday. After a lively start, the leading German index regained the 14,400 point mark by midday, which it had exceeded at the beginning of the week for the first time in months. Most recently, there was an increase of 1.18 percent to 14,434.52 points. According to stockbrokers, however, there are currently no major price drivers that could take the course barometer to even loftier heights.
After gains of more than 20 percent since the low at the end of September, the race to catch up in the Dax had stuttered this week. The rally also faltered on many other world stock exchanges. Stockbrokers speak of a now overbought level. Doubts are also growing in the USA that the US Federal Reserve could actually slow down its pace of interest rate hikes – precisely this hope had been fueled by the rally on international trading centers in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, the Dax doesn’t really seem to be “breaking down” these days,” stated Jürgen Molnar from Robomarkets. A real correction is still a long time coming. Christian Henke from broker IG spoke of a “stalemate”. On the one hand there is a lack of follow-up purchases, on the other hand investors do not want to sell. On a weekly basis, a decent plus of almost one and a half percent is now looming for the leading German index.
After initial losses on Friday, the MDax for medium-sized stocks was also last up 0.68 percent at 25,682.00 points. The leading European index EuroStoxx 50 increased its price by 1.56 percent to 3938.92 points.
On the corporate side, the reporting season is coming to an end, with only figures from the back rows on the stock exchange still on the agenda. Investors therefore primarily focused on analyst studies.
In the Dax, the SAP papers were hit, the shares fell by 1.6 percent at the end of the index. Here, a vote by the experts at Jefferies, which fell by two notches from “buy” to “underperform”, had a negative impact. Analyst Charles Brennan sees the medium-term goals at risk due to the strict cost controls with which the management of the software company is reacting to the weaker economy. He is also bothered by the high valuation, which makes SAP shares the most expensive in the sector.
Utilities were also strong. Here, among other things, a positive study by Societe Generale supported the Eon title with a plus of 2.4 percent. The shares of the engine manufacturer MTU, which had already been running strong the day before, rose by 2.3 percent to the highest level in three months. After the medium-term outlook, which was enthusiastically received by the market, numerous analyst firms increased their price targets. Mercedes-Benz rose by 2.6 percent at the top of the Dax, and some investors may have used the recent slide in prices.
In the MDax, Knorr- Bremse was in demand at a premium of two and a half percent, after the experts at Oddo BHF had previously issued a buy recommendation. The manufacturer of braking systems should benefit from rising prices in the truck business, argued analyst Delphine Brault. In the longer term, a growing rail segment and automation are the driving forces.
The Sto shares listed in the SDax index of smaller stocks lost 0.4 percent after the nine-month figures were presented. The insulating material and paint manufacturer was able to counteract the unexpectedly weak sales thanks to price increases. While sales increased, the consolidated result fell due to sharply increased costs.
