market report
The Fed minutes have thoroughly spoiled investors’ appetite for stocks. The courses in the DAX are slipping again. But the stock barometer shouldn’t break support now.
After negative specifications from Wall Street, the German stock market also went downhill at the start of trading. The DAX fell by 0.5 percent to 15,713 points at the XETRA opening. The most recent attempt to stabilize the leading German index must therefore be regarded as a failure.
From a technical perspective, the focus is now on the central support at 15,700 points. Here the DAX had already hit a low point twice in August and was able to turn up again. The round mark is therefore a fundamentally important bastion.
If the DAX breaks it, the next retreat area is around 15,600 points. However, a slide below the July low (15,456 points) should be avoided at all costs. “If you slide below this level, the current sideways phase will turn into a top formation,” warns HSBC expert Jörg Scherer.
Rising global yields have been troubling stock markets for days. The US Federal Reserve has now poured fuel on the fire with the publication of the minutes of its last meeting. According to Fed Minutes, most Fed chiefs continued to see inflation as a key risk that could require further tightening. This is creating uncertainty and shattering the markets’ hopes that the phase of interest rate hikes will come to an end.
On today’s trading day, investors are otherwise focused on US economic data. In addition to the weekly initial jobless claims, the leading indicators and the Philly Fed economic index are expected. The quarterly report of the US retailer Walmart is also pending.
Negative specifications for stock trading in this country come from Wall Street. The Dow Jones index of standard values went down 0.5 percent in the evening to 34,765 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.2 percent to 13,474 points. The broad S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent to 4404 points.
The risk of rising interest rates in the USA and a weakening economy in China also dampened the mood on the Asian stock exchanges in the morning. In Tokyo, the leading index Nikkei fell by 0.4 percent to 31,626 points. At times it had marked its lowest level since the beginning of June. The Shanghai stock exchange fell 0.4 percent. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index fell by around one percent.
Speculations about a prolonged period of high interest rates in the US are pushing the dollar. Dollar index rises to nine-week high. At the same time, the euro fell back to a six-week low of $1.0861.
Gold prices are trending slightly higher in early trading. Currently, 1896 dollars are paid for a troy ounce of gold. The yellow precious metal slipped below the much-noticed $1,900 mark yesterday. US interest rate speculation and the strong dollar continue to weigh on the gold price.
Oil prices have fallen somewhat. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in October cost 83.32 US dollars in the morning. That was 13 cents less than the day before. The price of a barrel of the American grade West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery fell by 22 cents to $79.16. Market observers once again referred to concerns about continued weak economic development in China.
RWE draws attention to itself in the DAX. The energy company only considers investments in green hydrogen technology to be justifiable if the government also provides subsidies for them. It just doesn’t work without subsidies, it’s like in the early years of wind and solar power, said Sopna Sury, the board member responsible for the hydrogen business of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
In July, around 3,200 complaints about postal service providers were received, as the Federal Network Agency announced when asked by dpa. That was about 200 more than in June and 100 more than in the same month last year. In the vast majority of cases, it is about the market leader Deutsche Post AG or its parcel counterpart DHL Paket GmbH, but the frustration is also directed at competitors.
According to TUI manager Pieter Jordaan, generative artificial intelligence (AI) will have a major impact on the tourism industry. “Those who use the technology will be faster and more productive than those who don’t,” said the travel group’s CIO. This also has consequences for end users. “It will fundamentally change the way people plan and book their trips in the future.”
The persistently weak demand for PCs has brought the Chinese technology group Lenovo declines in sales and profits. Revenue fell 24 percent to $12.9 billion in the April-June quarter. That was the fourth consecutive quarter of falling sales. Net income attributable to shareholders fell 66 percent to $177 million.
In the first half of the year, Vienna Airport benefited from a great desire to travel and increased its profits. The bottom line is that profits climbed by more than half to 74.0 million euros, as Austria’s largest airport announced today. Sales increased by 45.3 percent to 428.1 million euros. Passenger traffic reached around 91 percent of the pre-crisis level of 2019.
The Swiss online pharmacy DocMorris reduced its losses in the first half of the year. With a drop in sales of 16 percent to 252.7 million Swiss francs, the company recorded a net loss of 58.2 million Swiss francs after a minus of 83.6 million in the previous year. After the sale of the Swiss business under the name Zur Rose, the company is in a state of upheaval.
After the boom in the corona pandemic, the weakening construction industry and currency effects are affecting the Swiss sanitary technology group Geberit. Sales fell in the first half of the year by 14.1 percent to 1.66 billion Swiss francs and the operating result (EBIT) by 6.2 percent to 453 million francs.
Cisco has disappointed the markets with its revenue forecast. According to its own statements, the US network equipment supplier expects revenues of between 57.0 and 58.2 billion dollars for the 2024 financial year. Analysts have so far assumed an average of $58.38 billion. The California-based company’s stock fell about 2 percent in after-hours trading.
According to insiders, the steel group ArcelorMittal could enter the multi-billion bidding race for the American steel group US Steel. The world’s second largest steel company is discussing a possible offer with investment bankers, several people familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.