market report
Nervousness on the stock market is increasing ahead of the eagerly awaited US inflation data. If price inflation stabilizes as expected, the DAX should take off towards the 18,000 point mark.
On the second trading day of the week, investors on the German stock market flipped the switch. After the recent profit-taking, they are buying stocks again and are driving the DAX up. It rose to 17,817 points over the course of the morning. The German leading index is now approaching its record high of 17,879 points, which was achieved last week.
Tailwind for the DAX also comes from the heavily weighted SAP share, which – boosted by good figures from US rival Oracle – is up over one percent at lunchtime.
“The DAX is still in a very strong upward trend,” emphasizes chart technology expert Christian Zoller from ING. “Since the low at the end of October at 14,588 points, things have practically only gone up.” The next target is now the 18,000 point mark.
The DAX could now reach this mark very quickly – provided that US consumer prices expected at 1:30 p.m. play into the hands of the DAX bulls. The market is expecting the inflation rate to stabilize in February at the previous month’s level of 3.1 percent.
A value at this level or even better below could give the stock markets a new upward impulse, as it would solidify expectations of a US interest rate turnaround in June. Falling interest rates make investments in stocks more attractive.
However, if the inflation rate rises contrary to expectations, hopes of a first interest rate cut in June are likely to be shaky – and the stock markets should orient themselves downwards. IG expert Christian Henke expects this case to have “fatal consequences for the stock markets”.
The futures on the futures market indicate cautious optimism on Wall Street ahead of the important inflation data. The future on the US leading index Dow Jones Industrial Average is trending sideways at the moment. The future on the technology-heavy and therefore particularly interest-sensitive Nasdaq 100 selection index is rising by 0.5 percent. The day before, investors on the US stock exchanges were on guard in view of the important data publication.
The dollar is hardly moving, and at the same time the euro is also trending sideways at $1.0928. A troy ounce of gold costs $2,176 at midday. The yellow precious metal is now trading around $20 below its record high of $2,195, which was reached at the end of the week.
Oil prices extended early gains. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in May cost $82.92 in midday trading. That is 0.9 percent more than the evening before. The situation on the oil market continues to be characterized by prices tending to rise, albeit with significant fluctuations in some cases.
SAP shares are in demand in the DAX. Industry rival Oracle has exceeded experts’ profit expectations thanks to high demand for its cloud offering in the wake of the AI boom. Earnings per share, excluding items, for the fiscal third quarter were $1.41. Oracle shares were initially up almost ten percent in after-hours US trading.
The VW sports car subsidiary Porsche AG is setting cautious goals for profitability in view of the many model changes this year. The management around boss Oliver Blume expects the operating return on sales to be in a range of 15 to 17 percent. That would be less than the margin, which remained stable at 18.0 percent in the previous year, and also less than analysts had previously calculated.
Despite a cut dividend and a slump in profits, investors are buying Wacker Chemie. The shares in the MDAX temporarily moved up by more than nine percent, making up for their losses since the beginning of the year. According to a comment from Baader Helvea, the outlook was better than feared after the weak start to the year. Wacker Chemie expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of between 600 and 800 million euros in 2024.
The MDAX group TAG Immobilien felt the effects of increased financing costs last year. The bottom line was a loss of almost 411 million euros in 2023. A year earlier, a profit of a good 117 million euros was achieved. At lunchtime, the TAG share was the biggest loser in the MDAX with a loss of over three percent.
The lubricant manufacturer Fuchs wants to continue to grow after last year’s growth, but its goals are falling short of market expectations. Sales are expected to grow to 3.6 billion euros in 2024. The company boss estimates operating earnings before interest and taxes at around 430 million euros. Analysts had expected more for both indicators.
Lufthansa is being slowed down by the next strike: In the morning, the cabin crew organized by the UFO union went on strike at Frankfurt Airport. All Lufthansa departures at Germany’s largest airport are to be on strike until 11 p.m. UFO has called on the Lufthansa cabin crew at Munich Airport to go on strike tomorrow.
Hypoport shares are at the top of the SDAX with a price increase of over five percent. At 218.60 euros on the day, the paper reached its highest level since August 2022. However, analyst Simon Keller from Hauck & Aufhäuser considers the shares to be expensive and sticks to his price target of 170 euros.
The Douglas perfumery chain wants to venture onto the trading floor before Easter. The company is aiming for total issue proceeds of up to 907 million euros. Douglas wants to issue a maximum of 32.7 million new shares; the price range has been set at 26 to 30 euros per note. That would correspond to a market capitalization of 2.8 to 3.1 billion euros. The first day of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is scheduled for March 21st.
The accommodation platform Airbnb completely bans hosts from setting up security cameras indoors. Previously, they were allowed in shared spaces such as living rooms or hallways – as long as this was pointed out before booking and they were clearly visible. From April 30th, only outdoor cameras, such as those in doorbells, will be permitted.
According to a newspaper report, the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing failed more than a third of the tests during extensive safety tests carried out by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the 737 MAX. In an investigation into the production process that was initiated after a cabin wall was torn off during a flight, the Airbus rival failed 33 of 89 tests, the New York Times newspaper reported.
Amazon customers will have to make decisions more quickly in the future. The US trading company is shortening the return period for numerous products from 30 to 14 days. Amazon confirmed this yesterday. The new regulation should apply from April 25th. The product groups affected are electronics, cameras, office supplies, music, films and video games.