market report
After yesterday’s price losses, the DAX should initially stabilize at the start of trading. The record high remains within reach, but the positive momentum is gone for the time being.
The DAX is expected to make little progress at the start of trading today. Before the Xetra opening, the broker IG estimated the German leading index to be up 0.1 percent to 16,936 points. Yesterday, the DAX ended trading with a loss of 0.7 percent to 16,921.96 points, after temporarily reaching a new record high of 17,049.52 points the day before.
“In the meantime, assessments of the market situation on the German stock market are becoming more skeptical: The fact that the DAX has not developed any significant follow-up dynamics after jumping over 17,000 points and due to the previous high calls for caution. If a correction occurs, we will see the first holding marks at 16,859 and 16,821 points,” write Helaba market observers.
One of the things that caused nervousness in this country yesterday was the change in boss at the Stock Exchange Regulatory Authority in China. The People’s Republic is trying to stabilize the stock markets after the recent collapse of the Chinese stock exchanges to multi-year lows. According to brokers, there is a risk of a wave of capital demands in China with which investors will have to secure the transactions they made with borrowed money. Further falling prices could lead to forced sales of shares worth billions of dollars.
Further group balance sheets above market expectations drove the US S&P 500 index to a new all-time high on Wednesday. The broad stock market barometer closed 0.8 percent higher at 4,995 points, thus achieving a record closing price. Investors’ interest rate hopes and company figures above market expectations had helped the S&P reach several record highs in the last three months. The Dow Jones index of standard stocks rose by 0.4 percent to 38,677 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq advanced one percent to 15,756 points.
Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday suggested continued deflationary pressures and a possible further slowdown in China. Accordingly, consumer prices in China fell by 0.8 percent in January compared to the previous year. This is the sharpest decline since 2009 and exceeded forecasts of a 0.5 percent decline. Producer prices also fell again, which had a negative impact on sentiment.
“China needs to take aggressive action quickly to prevent deflationary expectations from taking hold among consumers,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president of Pinpoint Asset Management. Monetary policy is increasingly supporting the economy, but the movement in tax policy is too slow. The Shanghai stock exchange was up one percent. The index of major companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen gained 0.3 percent.
In Japan, the Nikkei closed 2.1 percent higher at 36,863.28 points.
As expected, Deutsche Börse continued its record run thanks to higher interest rates and acquisitions. The exchange operator also benefited from brisk trading activities on the markets and good business in trading gas and electricity products. In 2023, net revenue increased by 17 percent to almost 5.1 billion euros. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) also climbed by 17 percent to just over 2.9 billion euros. The dividend is to be increased by 20 cents to 3.80 euros per share.
Disney significantly reduced losses in its streaming business last quarter. The division with the Disney+ service and the ESPN+ sports offering posted operational red figures of $216 million after a loss of over a billion dollars a year earlier. At the same time, the group benefited from growth in its theme parks and cruises. Disney’s consolidated sales remained virtually unchanged at $23.5 billion. Quarterly profit rose from $1.28 to $1.9 billion.
The great success of the “Barbie” film has also given the toy giant Mattel a strong boost in the Christmas business. Gross business with Barbie dolls increased by 27 percent to $473 million. The film, released last summer, has grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide. Group sales across all product categories increased by 16 percent year-on-year to $1.6 billion. Profit jumped to $147.3 million from $16.1 million in the same quarter last year.