market report
The DAX is likely to start trading with slight price gains and thus move somewhat closer to the 17,000 point mark. The tug of war between buyers and sellers on the German stock market continues.
Despite mixed guidance from Wall Street, the DAX is heading back towards 17,000 points after the slight setback at the beginning of the week. The broker IG currently values the 40 German standard stocks 0.2 percent higher at 16,940 points.
Friday’s new record high of 17,004 points has so far failed to give the DAX any new impetus. However, the breakout was extremely close, as the leading German index only exceeded its previous record by one point. Investors continue to show respect for the round mark of 17,000 points. In order to spark new upside potential, the DAX would now have to set a new record high well above this. “The DAX wants to break out upwards, only the last will is missing,” states IG market expert Christian Henke.
This is also due to the fundamental conditions for the stock markets: interest rate optimism, which had boosted stock prices in the past few weeks, recently suffered a severe setback. On Friday, the unexpectedly strong US labor market report caused disillusionment among investors. According to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, a turnaround in interest rates could not take place until May at the earliest. This caused yields to rise on the bond markets at the beginning of the week.
In return, stock investors on Wall Street took a breather. The Dow Jones index of standard stocks closed 0.7 percent lower at 38,380 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.2 percent to 15,597 positions. The broad S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 4,942 points.
The Asian stock exchanges are once again providing mixed guidelines for DAX trading. In the Nikkei, high share prices are encouraging easy profit-taking. The Japanese leading index closed 0.5 percent lower at 36,160 points. In contrast, the ailing Chinese markets are on the road to recovery: the Shanghai stock exchange is currently trading 3.0 percent higher.
Meanwhile, the muted US interest rate cut expectations are also reflected in the foreign exchange and raw materials markets: the dollar has gained significantly against important currencies since Friday. In the morning, however, there was a small countermovement: the euro rose slightly to $1.0753. A troy ounce of gold costs $2,029 in early trading.
Among the individual stocks on the German stock market, the focus this morning is on MorphoSys shares. The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is reaching out to the biotech company and is putting 2.7 billion euros on the table for it. Novartis wants to pay 68 euros per MorphoSys share, as both sides announced on Monday evening after the stock market closed. Novartis is particularly interested in the great hope Pelabresib – the cancer drug could become a blockbuster. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of MorphoSys support the Swiss offer.
After years of stable dividends, the consumer goods group Beiersdorf has significantly increased its payout to shareholders. The group announced late in the afternoon that a dividend of 1.00 euros per share would be proposed for the 2023 financial year. Since 2012, 0.70 euros have been paid. Beiersdorf also wants to buy back its own shares with a volume of up to 500 million euros.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s enthusiasm for martial arts is forcing the meta-group he leads to issue an unusual warning to investors. Zuckerberg and some other managers engaged in “high-risk activities such as martial arts, extreme sports and recreational flying” that could “lead to serious injury and death,” Meta noted in the detailed report for last year published over the weekend.
The world’s largest carmaker Toyota is increasing its annual forecast after a strong increase in profits in the third quarter. For its financial year, which runs until the end of March, the Japanese group now expects a profit of 4.9 trillion yen (around 31 billion euros) instead of the 4.5 billion yen previously forecast. Toyota is currently scoring points with its hybrid models because many buyers prefer them as an alternative to purely electric cars.
The Douglas perfumery chain is aiming to return to the stock market as soon as possible. According to information from the German Press Agency, it is conceivable that Douglas will officially announce this during February in order to get the process underway. An IPO would therefore be possible before Easter. The financial investor Advent and the founding Kreke family as minority shareholders took Douglas off the stock exchange in 2013 in order to realign the company.