market report
The breather on the German stock market is likely to continue. After a quiet start to the week, the DAX should not make any big jumps today either.
Before the holiday break on May 1st, the DAX should take it easy today. The broker IG estimates the German standard values to be almost unchanged at 18,117 points. Yesterday, after initial gains, the DAX turned negative and ultimately closed 0.2 percent lower at 18,118 points.
From a technical perspective, the current pause on the German stock market is not a negative thing and can even have a constructive effect in the future. In any case, the upward trend in the DAX remains intact. In addition, the German stock barometer continues to trade comfortably above its 50-day line – which is fueling hopes of further price gains.
Meanwhile, the reporting season continues to keep investors on tenterhooks, with four companies from the DAX alone opening their books today: Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Vonovia. Tonight and Thursday, two technology heavyweights from the USA, Amazon and Apple, are also on the agenda.
In addition, investors are now already concentrating on the US Federal Reserve’s decision tomorrow evening. Economists firmly believe that the Fed will once again hold its ground and leave the key interest rate unchanged. The focus is therefore on the statements by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, which stock market investors will look for clues about the further course of monetary policy.
Positive guidelines for DAX trading come from Wall Street, where investors started the new stock market week with momentum after the recent price increases. The Dow Jones index of standard stocks closed 0.4 percent higher at 38,386 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.4 percent to 15,983 positions. The broad S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 5,116 points.
The Asian markets did not find a common direction this morning. In Tokyo, the 225-value Nikkei index was 1.1 percent higher at 38,364 points in late trading. The Shanghai stock exchange, on the other hand, is still down 0.2 at 3,106 points.
After a volatile start to the week, the yen remains in focus after the Japanese currency fell sharply yesterday from a 34-year low of $160.25. Traders suspected government intervention to buy the yen. The Japanese currency is currently just under $157. The euro is trading 0.1 percent lower at $1.0706.
On the crude oil market, the prospect of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza war continues to depress prices. The North Sea Brent variety costs 0.3 percent less this morning at $86.96 per barrel (159 liters), after having already fallen by over one percent yesterday.
Lufthansa is reducing costs after the expensive strikes in the first quarter. The core brand Lufthansa wants to reduce material costs, stop new projects and review administrative hiring. Group-wide, CEO Carsten Spohr only expects a flight offering of 92 instead of 94 percent of the level from before the Corona crisis in 2024.
High costs due to the planned takeover by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis pushed the biotech company Morphosys deep into the red at the start of the year. In the first quarter there was a consolidated loss of 311 million euros, after a loss of a good 32 million a year ago. Novartis announced its acquisition of Morphosys for 2.7 billion euros in February.
Rising chip prices and the boom in artificial intelligence have given the electronics giant Samsung a significant jump in profits in the first quarter of 2024. The surplus increased more than fourfold year-on-year to 6.75 trillion won (4.6 billion euros). The South Koreans are market leaders in memory chips and televisions.
According to media reports, Tesla founder Elon Musk made important commitments to introduce the advanced version of the “Autopilot” assistance system during his quick visit to China. Tesla entered into a navigation and map deal with the Chinese online giant Baidu, wrote the Bloomberg news agency and the Wall Street Journal.