Status: 07/16/2021 7:44 a.m.
The relatively weak targets from Asia and the USA are unlikely to motivate investors to buy shares at first. At the moment, it looks like the DAX will be treading on the start of trading.
In the opinion of banks and brokers, the DAX is likely to enter the last trading day of the week today at roughly its previous day’s level. Yesterday it had fallen by one percent to 15,629 points. It was only last Wednesday that the leading German index reached another record high of 15,810 points.
The specifications from the USA are mixed, the US stock exchanges closed inconsistently: The Dow Jones index went 0.2 percent higher to 34,987 points from trading. The technology-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.7 percent to 14,543 points. The broad S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 4,360 points.
Robert Pavlik, portfolio manager at asset manager Dakota Wealth, said the relative weakness was due to investor concerns. You would wonder if the economy has already reached the maximum level of growth. “This will be a time of higher volatility and more troubled markets.”
Fed caught cold by inflation
The inflationary surge associated with the reopening of the US economy after the corona crisis has apparently caught the US Federal Reserve cold. At a hearing in the US Senate yesterday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell admitted that this historically “one-time” inflation was higher than the Fed “or anyone” had expected.
With the reopening, “the system went through a shock” and drove inflation far above the two percent mark targeted by the Fed: “Of course we are not looking at it relaxed.” The high consumer prices are currently fueling speculation about an early turnaround in interest rates. As long as inflation proves to be temporary, there is no reaction to it, stressed Powell.
Japan’s central bank lowers outlook
The economic worries are also gripping Asia’s stock exchanges. The Nikkei index, which comprises 225 values, was 1.1 percent lower at 27,975 points. The broader Topix index, however, remained unchanged.
The Japanese central bank had lowered its growth outlook for the current year, but still expects a moderate economic recovery overall. In its quarterly report, the central bank now expects the economy to grow by 3.8 percent in the financial year that ends in March 2022. In April, the central bank had set 4.0 percent.
The Shanghai stock exchange was 0.3 percent in the red. The index of the most important companies in Shanghai and Shenzen lost 0.6 percent.
Ceconomy: Vote again?
Electronics retailer Ceconomy may want its shareholders to vote again on the complete takeover of Media-Saturn-Holding. The project had stalled because of shareholder lawsuits. The group is now examining whether to have the financing through a capital increase and a convertible bond and thus the purchase approved again by a general meeting, and if necessary to let the shareholders vote on their respective share classes, the SDAX group announced.
Is Amazon getting around the minimum tax?
According to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the American Internet company Amazon may not have to pay the agreed global minimum tax of 15 percent. “It depends on whether the company reaches profitability or not, and I’m not sure,” Yellen said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday when asked whether the deal would exceed 130 States would redistribute taxation rights for Amazon.
The states had agreed on a global minimum taxation of 15 percent so that large international corporations could also benefit from taxation.