market report
The DAX started slightly below its record high. Investors actually have every reason to be more cautious. Finally, important inflation data will be on the stock market agenda later this week.
The DAX started the new trading week with a small discount. At the start of trading on XETRA, German standard stocks fell by 0.1 percent to 17,396 points. This means they remain within sight of the record high of 17,443 points. The DAX set this up on Friday with the tailwind of the US stock exchanges, which were also at record highs.
The still young stock market year is off to a good start for the DAX so far: the annual increase so far is almost four percent. In February alone, the leading German index has so far gained almost three percent. Market observers certainly believe that the DAX will continue to rise in price and point to the intact upward trend.
With the ever-new record highs, the risk of a correction in the DAX has also increased. Market experts point to the “overbought” market situation after the long rise, which suggests that prices are falling. Recently, however, price declines on the German stock market have always been used by investors to get started.
Slightly positive news comes from the German export industry: companies’ export expectations rose to minus 7.0 points in February, from minus 8.5 points in January, as the Ifo Institute announced this morning. However, only a few sectors still expected growth in exports.
“The German export industry is currently hardly benefiting from global economic developments,” said the head of the ifo surveys, Klaus Wohlrabe. “There is still a lot of room for improvement.”
Meanwhile, important inflation data that will be published later in the week urge caution. In Germany, preliminary data on the development of consumer prices in February is due on Thursday. Also on Thursday, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation – the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index – will be released.
Several speeches from the US monetary authorities are also scheduled for the course of the week: analysts assume that they will repeat their mantra of remaining cautious on interest rates.
Meanwhile, the rally on US stock markets sparked by chip manufacturer Nvidia lost some of its momentum at the end of the week. The Dow Jones index of standard stocks closed 0.2 percent higher at 39,131 points. The broad S&P 500 ended trading little changed at 5,088 points. Both indices have now reached fresh all-time highs.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, fell 0.3 percent to 15,996 points. Investors cashed in on stocks from market heavyweights such as Apple, Alphabet and Tesla.
The Japanese stock market continued its rise at the beginning of the week. The Nikkei index temporarily climbed to a new all-time high of 39,388 points – it ended trading 0.4 percent higher at 39,233 points. Favorable valuations and corporate reforms had attracted many foreign investors to the market in recent months, and the weak yen did the rest. The Nikkei has gained almost 17 percent since the beginning of the year.
Oil prices are falling at the beginning of the week. The price for a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent fell by 0.6 percent to $80.35. The bottom line was that oil prices did not move particularly much last week. Price movements have also been limited since the beginning of the year.
The euro shows little movement in early foreign exchange trading. The European common currency is currently rising by 0.1 percent to $1.0831. There is also little movement on the gold market: a troy ounce of gold currently costs $2,034, which is about the same as the day before.
Infineon shares are the focus of the DAX this morning. The chip manufacturer has announced a share buyback worth up to 300 million euros. Infineon announced that the up to seven million papers were used to be given to employees as part of employee participation programs.
In the collective bargaining dispute with Lufthansa, the ver.di union is exerting pressure. She called for talks about desired improvements for ground staff before the regular round of negotiations on March 13th. The prerequisite for this is that the group submits an improved offer in advance.
The carbon fiber specialist SGL Carbon is considering a separation from the carbon fiber and composite materials business. All options for the Carbon Fibers division are being examined, including a partial sale and a complete sale, the company, which is listed in the SDAX small cap index, announced on Friday evening.
The holding of the legendary investor Warren Buffett sits on record cash reserves of more than 160 billion dollars. The 93-year-old sees hardly any exciting investment properties at the moment. In the USA there are only “a handful” of companies that could make big leaps for his holding company Berkshire Hathaway – and he and others have had their eye on these for a long time, it said in the annual report for 2023 on Saturday. Buffett sees no suitable candidates for investing abroad. The annual profit totaled $96.2 billion, surpassing the 2021 record by around $6.3 billion.
Google is no longer allowing its Gemini AI software to generate images of people after it showed users non-white Nazi soldiers and American settlers. The Internet company admitted that in some cases the depiction did not correspond to the historical context. At the same time, Google fundamentally defended diversity in the generation of AI images.
Europe’s largest mobile communications trade fair, MWC, starts today in Barcelona with technical innovations driven by artificial intelligence (AI). At the Mobile World Congress, a total of 2,400 exhibitors from all over the world present products, developments and services. The exhibitors include Lenovo, Samsung and Huawei – Apple traditionally stays away from the trade fair.
The banking software provider Temenos has appointed three external companies to investigate allegations of manipulation. This includes Alvarez & Marsal, which specializes in forensic accounting and investigations, the Swiss company said. Last week, Temenos rejected allegations from US investor Hindenburg that there were accounting irregularities at the company.
A 20-year-old asthma drug significantly reduced allergic reactions in people with multiple severe food allergies, according to researchers in a study. This is about the drug Xolair, which is sold by the Swiss pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis, researchers reported at a medical conference on Sunday.
Before the European elections in June, Facebook parent company Meta wants to take action with a team of specialists against misinformation and the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI). “We use our Elections Operations Center to identify potential threats and take countermeasures in real time,” wrote Marco Pancini, who is responsible for the US company’s relations with the European Union (EU), in a blog post.