Fears of a larger interest rate hike in the USA made investors on the German stock market cautious again on Wednesday. After the Dax had closed with losses the day before after a thirteen-month high, the leading German index showed little change on Wednesday morning with a plus of 0.12 percent to 15,578.98 points.
Statements by the US Federal Reserve Chairman before the US Senate Banking Committee are having an impact. Among other things, Jerome Powell said that the interest rate peak would probably be higher than previously assumed.
The MDax lost 0.45 percent to 28,728.35 points. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 fell by 0.24 percent to 4268.83 points.
In February, the US Federal Reserve had further slowed the pace of interest rate hikes and only raised the key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points. In December there was an interest rate step of half a percentage point. The key interest rate had been raised four times before by 0.75 percentage points.
The experts at Credit Suisse wrote that a longer period of higher interest rates (“higher-for-longer”) is now emerging again. And the resulting negative impact on the stock markets is too great to be ignored, commented portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC Partners.
Among the individual values, the shares of the fragrance and flavor manufacturer Symrise came into focus. In the morning he informed about his goals and expects, among other things, profitability at the lower end of his medium-term target range for 2023. But that was not all. The European Commission is investigating the industry on suspicion of price fixing. When asked, Symrise confirmed that it had been contacted by the EU Commission. But there are no details yet. The shares lost 3.7 percent at the end of the Dax.
The fact that the shareholders of the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas had to adjust to a significantly lower dividend after the slump in profits last year was annoying. The Adidas papers fell by 1.0 percent.
Continental’s shares, on the other hand, jumped to the top of the Dax with a plus of 7.1 percent. After a slump in profits last year, the automotive supplier and tire manufacturer plans to make noticeable improvements in its day-to-day business, which was immediately rewarded by investors. With an increase of 39 percent so far this year, the shares are also the best-performing stocks in the leading German index.
Brenntag shares were up 0.8 percent, because after the previous rumors about share buybacks, there were now concrete ones. The chemicals trader is actually launching a share buyback program with a volume of up to 750 million euros or around 6.8 percent of the share capital. Purchases are scheduled to begin in March and run for up to 12 months.
Teamviewer and Fuchs Petrolub occupied the best and last position in the MDax. While the software manufacturer’s papers were the favorite in the index of medium-sized stocks with a plus of 2.3 percent after a buy recommendation from Kepler Cheuvreux, Fuchs, the tail light, fell by 4.2 percent. Although the lubricants manufacturer expects further growth in the current year, it has remained cautious about its profit target due to cost increases.
