Further corona easing in China helped the German stock market to make moderate gains after Christmas. With thin sales, the Dax rose several times over the much-noticed mark of 14,000 points in the course of trading, but ultimately just missed it. The leading German index closed 0.39 percent higher at 13,995.10 points. The MDax of medium-sized companies increased by 0.15 percent to 25,285.55 points.
The most important German stock market barometer has been struggling at the 14,000 point hurdle since mid-December. The Dax’s race to catch up, which began after the year’s low at the end of September, ended when the central banks in the USA and Europe made it clear, with reference to inflation, that there was no end in sight to their rate hike cycle for the time being.
Most of the other European stock exchanges also saw firmer prices. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 closed 0.42 percent higher at 3832.89 points. The French Cac 40 climbed 0.70 percent to 6550.66 points. It was not traded on the London Stock Exchange. The leading US index Dow Jones Industrial was 0.40 percent higher at the end of trading in Europe.
News from China caused a slightly more optimistic mood on the stock markets. After the world’s second largest economy was hit by a strong corona wave due to the first easing of restrictions, it is hoped that the pandemic – and with it the economic burden – will end a little earlier than expected. Since the credit conditions in China had recently improved significantly, according to one analyst, this also gives hope for a rapid economic recovery.
From an industry perspective, shares in car manufacturers in particular benefited from the prospects in China across Europe and also in the Dax. The shares of Porsche AG rose by 2.5 percent as the leader in the leading German index. The titles of BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz gained between 0.2 and 0.9 percent.
The second strongest Dax stock was Siemens Energy with a plus of 2.1 percent. The energy company announced that it would buy back its own shares worth up to 130 million euros for an employee share program.
Rheinmetall gained 1.9 percent in the MDax. After Friday’s losses, they resumed their recovery movement of the week before Christmas. Looking at the year to date, they are among the undisputed favorites of investors with a plus of just over 130 percent. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany and other Western countries massively increased their defense budgets.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.36 percent on Friday to 2.47 percent. The Rex pension index fell by 0.19 percent to 125.91 points. The Bund future fell by 0.95 percent to 133.40 points. The euro cost 1.0657 US dollars. The European Central Bank (ECB) had previously set the reference rate at $1.0624.
