The German stock market has broken off its recent uptrend. Statements by US Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell on further interest rate hikes pushed prices into the red from the afternoon.
At the end of the day, the Dax went down 0.60 percent to 15,559.53 points, just a few points above its low for the day. The leading German index had previously exceeded the important mark of 15,700 points and, supported by data from German industry, had at times risen to its highest level in 13 months. The MDax of medium-sized stocks ended the day down 1.08 percent at 28,857.11 points.
Powell had told the US Senate Banking Committee that the US Federal Reserve was ready to increase the pace of further hikes and let interest rates rise even more than expected if necessary. He referred to the high inflationary pressure. However, such statements do not come as a complete surprise, as experts see the Fed as continuing to raise interest rates anyway.
Meanwhile, German industry got off to a solid start in the new year and received more orders than in December, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Tuesday. On average, analysts had expected a decline.
Vonovia: Course slide due to raid
On the company side, the Vonovia shares slipped to the end of the Dax with minus 5.6 percent. The public prosecutor’s office in Bochum and the State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia have searched the offices of the Bochum-based residential real estate group on suspicion of corruption. According to the group, the investigations are only aimed at individual employees, but JPMorgan analyst Neil Green described the news as unhelpful.
The rest of the price action on the market was largely dominated by the accounting season. At Zalando, investors were initially pleased with the online fashion retailer’s medium-term margin outlook and pushed the paper to a four-week high. Then, however, the more restrained prospects for the current year came to the fore: the shares lost 3.4 percent as one of the worst Dax values.
At the consumer goods and adhesives manufacturer Henkel, business with cosmetics and detergents and cleaning agents was again disappointing. And here, too, the earnings outlook did not convince investors, and the share fell by 2.7 percent.
With Hellofresh, another Internet value went down, the shares of the cookery box mailer lost more than ten percent due to a vague outlook at the end of the MDax. On the other hand, investors grabbed Gea, the shares in the machine and plant manufacturer gained 3.7 percent after a profit increase last year. A dividend increase also attracted investors.
Powell’s speech also weighed on the courses in Europe and on Wall Street: The leading eurozone index EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.81 percent to 4278.96 points. The trading centers in Paris and London posted losses, albeit smaller ones. The New York Dow Jones Industrial recently fell by almost 1.1 percent.
The euro came under significant pressure following indications of more decisive action by the Fed. Most recently, the common currency cost 1.0572 US dollars. The European Central Bank had set the reference rate at 1.0665 (Monday: 1.0646) dollars in the afternoon. The dollar had thus cost 0.9377 (0.9393) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.71 percent on the previous day to 2.73 percent. The Rex pension index fell by 0.04 percent to 123.42 points. The Bund future rose by 0.33 percent to 132.09 points.
