Problems in parts of the US banking landscape clouded sentiment on the German stock market on Wednesday. After the bad news from the ailing regional bank First Republic, which weighed on share prices in New York the previous evening, economic confidence remains subdued. Unexpectedly good quarterly reports from Microsoft and Alphabet from the US technology sector were not enough to lift the indices in this country into positive territory.
The leading index Dax closed 0.48 percent lower at 15,795.73 points. The MDax of medium-sized stocks fell by 0.30 percent to 27,464.85 points.
“In this reporting season, the stock exchanges are caught between tech and banks,” said market expert Thomas Altmann from asset manager QC Partners. Concerns about US regional banks just flared up again, while US big tech stocks surprised with solid gains. “Where this area of tension will drive the indices is still open,” Altmann continued. In the first three months of the year, customers withdrew more money than expected from the regional bank First Republic Bank, which got into trouble as a result of the US banking crisis.
In this country, quarterly figures could not put the stamp on the Dax: The shares of the consumer goods group Beiersdorf and those of the flavor manufacturer Symrise increased slightly, while the shares of the engine manufacturer MTU fell slightly.
In the real estate sector, there was encouraging news from Vonovia. The company raises one billion euros by selling a minority stake in a Südewo real estate portfolio. “Not the big hit, but a step in the right direction,” commented a trader. Vonovia gained 2.8 percent as the best Dax value and also pulled other real estate values up.
At the end of the Dax, investors made profits on the Rheinmetall armaments group, falling by 5.2 percent. Investors also cashed in on the solar technology manufacturer SMA Solar, where the drop was 5.8 percent. As a result, the shares slipped to last place in the SDax small-cap index.
In the MDax, Puma shares fell by 2.6 percent. The sporting goods group had confirmed its growth forecast for this year, but also signaled that sales in the second quarter would only grow in the low to mid single-digit percentage range.
Speculations about the entry of a group from the United Arab Emirates into Thyssenkrupp’s steel division drove the shares of the Essen-based company. The shares secured first place in the MDax with a plus of 5.4 percent and were thus able to make up for a small part of their recent losses.
The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index in the euro zone, closed 0.69 percent lower at 4347.71 points. France’s Cac 40 fell 0.86 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.49 percent. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial remained almost at the previous day’s level at the end of European trading.
The euro rose. The prospect of further rate hikes by the European Central Bank continued to provide support. This set the reference rate at 1.1039 (Tuesday: 1.1022) dollars. The dollar thus cost 0.9058 (0.9072) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield fell from 2.48 percent on the previous day to 2.35 percent. The Rex pension index rose by 0.74 percent to 125.98 points. The Bund future recently lost 0.37 percent to 134.84 points.