After the brilliant start to the week, investors held back on Thursday for the second day in a row with buying shares. The leading German index Dax closed 0.3 percent lower at 15,639 points. “The virus variant Omikron has lost its horror for the time being,” said Christian Henke from the brokerage house IG. In return, however, interest rate fears have come to the fore again. Inflation data from the US is expected next Friday. If prices continue to rise, the US Federal Reserve could turn the interest rate screw faster than previously expected. That should continue to bother the stock markets.
In terms of individual stocks, Deutsche Bank stocks did not have a good day. With a minus of 3.4 percent, it was the weakest DAX value. According to a media report, the money house is facing new problems with US authorities. The stricter EU approach to bogus self-employment caused exchange rates for delivery services and the like. Stocks of Delivery Hero, Deliveroo and Just Eat Takeaway fell as much as 3.1 percent. In the US, the title of the driving service broker lost 3.2 percent. According to a bill, companies should employ drivers, for whom they establish rules of conduct and determine payment, as employees, thereby granting them paid vacation, pension entitlements and a minimum wage. At Volkswagen, investors took advantage of the official announcement of the management restructuring and investment plan for the coming years to take profits. The automaker’s papers fell by one percent after they had gained more than eleven percent in the past few days thanks to the agreement in the internal power struggle. On the Milan stock exchange, Unicredit provided a fireworks display with fresh growth targets. The shares of the major Italian bank gained 10.8 percent. After three days of price gains in a row, US investors took a breather. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index lost 1.4 percent, while the leading index Dow Jones closed unchanged at 35,755 points. Amazon lost 1.1 percent of the individual titles. The online retailer is said to pay a fine of more than 1.13 billion euros in Italy. He is said to have exploited his dominant position there.