market report
After the messed up start to the year, the DAX doesn’t really get going in the second week of trading. According to experts, if the German barometer does not turn around soon, there is a risk of major price losses.
After an impressive year-end spurt in the DAX, disillusionment has now set in on the German stock market. In the middle of the week, investors are once again shying away from larger commitments; the DAX starts XETRA trading with an increase of 0.1 percent to 16,703 points. Yesterday, the DAX lost 0.2 percent to 16,688 points.
The German standard values continue to show respect for the 17,000 point mark, which they were able to surpass in mid-December. At the beginning of the year, the DAX launched another attack on the round mark, but then turned back at 16,963 points. In order to be able to pick up momentum again, the DAX would have to overcome these two highs, as HSBC chart technology expert Jörg Scherer points out. And Jochen Stanzl, chief analyst at broker CMC Markets, is convinced: Below 16,700 points, the risk of a stronger correction remains increased.
In fact, investors should now keep an eye on the 16,626 point mark, the low from December 21st that the DAX was recently able to recapture. If it falls below this, the risk increases that the German leading index will return to its messed up start to the year.
From a fundamental perspective, it is primarily subdued interest rate cut expectations that are currently making investors shy away from making larger purchases. According to the CME Group’s Fed Watch Tool, only 62.7 percent of market participants expect a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed meeting in March. Inflation data will be published in the USA tomorrow and will likely determine the further course of the US Federal Reserve.
Before that, the “Beige Book” of the Fed’s regional districts will be published this evening. “The report is one of the basis for the Federal Open Market Committee, which will discuss monetary policy in the USA at the end of the month,” said the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg.
In the run-up to the important data release, investors on Wall Street held back from making major investments yesterday. The Dow Jones index of standard stocks closed 0.4 percent lower at 37,525 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, advanced 0.1 percent to 14,857 positions. The broad S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent to 4,756 points.
The majority of the Asian stock exchanges followed Wall Street’s subdued developments in the morning. The Japanese stock exchange was once again an exception. The leading index Nikkei surpassed the 34,000 point mark for the first time since 1990. At the close of trading in Tokyo there was an increase of 2.0 percent to 34,441 points.
The euro exchange rate appears to be stable after its recent losses. The common currency is trading at $1.0938 this morning, 0.1 percent above Tuesday evening’s level. The day before, disappointing industrial data from Germany had weighed on the euro.
The price of gold continues to collapse. In the morning, a troy ounce of the yellow precious metal costs $2,026, 0.2 percent less.
Oil prices can recover somewhat further from the losses suffered at the beginning of the week. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in March costs $77.86 this morning, 0.4 percent more than the day before. Yesterday, oil prices had already made up for some of their losses from the start of the week.
The oil market is currently benefiting from the prospect of a supply shortage. It was announced the evening before that the US interest group American Petroleum Institute (API) had recorded a decline in US crude oil inventories by 5.2 million barrels last week.
Conflicting announcements regarding the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) sent the crypto industry into turmoil this evening. At first it appeared in a statement on the short message platform X that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was clearing the way for a listing. Subsequently, a statement from the head of the supervisory authority said that the report was false. Accordingly, hackers gained access to the official SEC user account and sent the message. The Bitcoin price first jumped up, but then slipped into the red.
The online pharmacy Redcare Pharmacy is on record thanks to its growing customer base. Last year, thanks in part to a takeover, sales increased by almost half to 1.8 billion euros, setting a record, as the company formerly known as Shop Apotheke announced based on initial calculations. Without the acquisition, the increase was 24 percent. The full balance sheet is due to be published on March 5th.
The bioethanol manufacturer CropEnergies earned significantly less operationally due to falling prices for the biofuel. The operating result (Ebitda) collapsed in the third quarter to between 85 and 105 (previous year: 294) million euros. The biofuel subsidiary of Europe’s largest sugar producer, Südzucker, attributes this not only to lower prices but also to scheduled maintenance shutdowns, which pushed production and sales volumes well below the previous year’s level.
Tesla has lowered the range figures for its entire range of cars. The electric car pioneer responded to new regulations from the US authorities for corresponding measurements. There had previously been expert reports and customer complaints about overly optimistic range estimates. Tesla shares ended trading in New York with a loss of 2.3 percent.
In the future, Google will also allow its Chrome web browser to be used on the infotainment screen in the car. Passengers will be able to surf the Internet when the car is parked or at a traffic light, for example. The function comes to vehicles where Google’s software is installed directly in the car. Initially it will be available in vehicles from Volvo and the electric brand Polestar, as Google announced yesterday at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas.
The US space agency NASA has postponed the planned return of astronauts to the moon by almost a year to September 2026. A preparatory flight, in which a manned circumnavigation of the satellite is planned, is now not scheduled to take place until September 2025. This should give the developers of the Artemis missions more time. The Artemis 2 and 3 missions are based on capsules and spaceships from Lockheed Martin and SpaceX from Tesla boss Elon Musk.
After the incident with a Boeing aircraft in which a part of the fuselage fell out in flight, CEO Dave Calhoun admitted that the aircraft manufacturer had made a mistake and promised to clarify the matter. He also promised 100 percent transparency, according to an excerpt from his speech to employees published by Boeing. Boeing will work with NTSB accident investigators to determine the cause of the incident.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is putting $14 billion on the table for network equipment manufacturer Juniper to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) business. HPE has offered Juniper shareholders $40 per share, the companies said yesterday. That corresponds to a premium of 32.4 percent over the closing price of the share on Monday, when news of the takeover became known.
Despite high inflation and rising interest rates, the Swiss construction chemicals company Sika achieved record sales last year. Thanks primarily to the billion-dollar takeover of BASF’s former construction chemicals business, revenues rose by 7.1 percent to 11.24 billion Swiss francs. The full balance sheet is due to be published on February 16th.