The eagerly awaited US labor market report did not bring any new momentum to the Dax on Friday. According to the job data, the German leading index, which had been weakening since the morning, only managed to break even slightly and ultimately fell 0.16 percent lower at 17,814.51 points into the weekend. After the Dax record was reached the day before, investors apparently did not dare to venture any further. Over the week, the DAX has gained around 0.5 percent. The MDax of medium-sized stocks closed 0.70 percent in the red at 25,983.68 points.
However, portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC Partners viewed the job data from the USA as positive for the financial markets: “The labor market report contains nothing that could postpone the Fed’s first interest rate cut any further. And that is currently the only thing that is important on the stock markets .” The US Federal Reserve could certainly live well, especially with the low wage growth in February. The increase in hourly wages has so far been a thorn in the side of US monetary authorities.
Despite little movement in the Dax, the trading week ends with increasing hopes that interest rates will soon fall. Investors recently saw the first interest rate cuts in June from the appearances of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the European Central Bank (ECB). This is what the market had previously expected. This reignited the record hunt in the Dax on Thursday and drove the leading index to a high of 17,879 points.
A drop in share price of 42.1 percent at Hellofresh caused a stir among companies. Investors threw the papers out of the portfolio after the cooking box supplier had canceled its medium-term targets until 2025 the evening before due to consumer reluctance. In addition, the management of the MDax Group expects a collapse in adjusted operating profit for 2024. Analysts spoke of a further blow to the credibility of the company’s management. During the pandemic, the share price was boosted by the fact that many people ordered food home.
On the other hand, real estate stocks that benefited from the prospect of falling interest rates were in demand. Vonovia was well ahead in the Dax with a premium of 1.4 percent. Aroundtown led the MDax with a price increase of 4.3 percent.
Symrise sat at the top of the DAX. The shares of the fragrance and flavor manufacturer continued their recent good run with a 2.2 percent premium. Symrise impressed this week with its annual figures and its outlook for the current year. At the end of the Dax, shares in the arms company and automotive supplier Rheinmetall paid tribute to the recently reached record high and were 3.4 percent lower.
Beiersdorf benefited from a positive analyst study and rose by 1.6 percent. The US bank JPMorgan placed the shares on “Positive Catalyst Watch” with a view to the consumer goods company’s quarterly figures due in mid-April.
In the SDax small cap index, Süss Microtec’s price fell by 7.9 percent. Analyst Tim Wunderlich from Hauck
Atoss Software is planning a stock split. This will be preceded by a capital increase of almost 8 million euros. The shares then fell by 1.1 percent.
The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.26 percent to 4961.11 points. In Paris, the Cac 40 rose slightly, while the FTSE 100 in London fell by almost half a percent. In the USA, the Dow Jones Industrial rose slightly at the European market close, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 even temporarily climbed to another record high.
The euro has since reached a two-month high and was last traded at $1.0941. The European Central Bank set the reference rate at 1.0932 (Thursday: 1.0895) dollars. The dollar therefore cost 0.9147 (0.9178) euros. On the bond market, the current yield fell from 2.37 percent the day before to 2.32 percent. The Rex bond index rose by 0.28 percent to 125.75 points. The Bund future climbed 0.27 percent to 133.77 points.
