Israel’s suspected attack on Iran has heightened investors’ geopolitical concerns ahead of the weekend.
The correction continued in the Dax, with the leading index closing 0.56 percent weaker at 17,737.36 points. At minus 1.1 percent, it recorded its third weekly loss in a row. The MDax of medium-sized stocks lost 0.76 percent to 25,989.86 points.
According to consistent media reports, Israel carried out a retaliatory action against Iran in response to last weekend’s major attack. The New York Times reported on an early morning Israeli military operation in Iran, citing two unnamed Israeli and three Iranian government officials.
From its record high of 18,567 points at the beginning of the month, the Dax has now lost four and a half percent. In addition, the so-called 50-day average line was broken as support. This is considered by chart technicians as a benchmark for the medium-term trend.
The slump on the global stock markets could continue for a while, wrote Marco Valli, economist and stock expert at the Italian bank Unicredit. He advises investors to hold off on new equity investments until the current volatile situation on the market has stabilized.
Among the individual stocks on the German market, Sartorius’ preferred shares fell by a further 2.6 percent at the end of the week after their price slide the day before. The pharmaceutical and laboratory supplier disappointed investors with weak quarterly figures on Thursday.
Befesa’s shares slipped by 5.7 percent. The US bank Morgan Stanley had expressed skepticism about the shares in the industrial recycler.
Chip values were under pressure. In view of the problems in the market for smartphones and laptops, the world’s largest chip manufacturer TSMC expects the semiconductor industry to develop weaker this year than last. In this country, Infineon lost 2.4 percent and Aixtron 4.6 percent.
Süss Microtec, however, gained 6.5 percent. The investment bank Stifel had recommended buying the securities of the semiconductor industry supplier. On Thursday, Süss Microtec rose sharply after the publication of preliminary quarterly figures, but then closed only moderately higher.
The euro was trading at $1.0660 after the market closed. The European Central Bank set the reference rate in the afternoon at 1.0653 (Thursday: 1.0679) US dollars. The dollar therefore cost 0.9387 (0.9364) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.49 percent the day before to 2.51 percent. The Rex bond index fell by 0.16 percent to 124.48 points. The Bund future fell by 0.03 percent to 131.12 points.
