Slightly higher expected: DAX stabilizes

After the price losses on Friday, there are signs that the DAX will stabilize at the start of the week. Tailwind comes from positive economic data from China. The focus is on Volkswagen shares.

After Friday’s setback, the DAX is again showing slight gains at the beginning of the week. The broker IG rated the leading index a good 0.3 percent higher two hours before the start of Xetra, back to over 13,600 points. In the previous week, which was mainly characterized by many quarterly reports, the DAX had climbed to 13,792 points, a further high since mid-June, but closed 0.65 percent lighter on Friday at 13,573 points.

While Wall Street closed inconsistently on Friday, Asian markets are mostly positive. The Tokyo Nikkei index is up a good 0.3 percent, and China is on the up by a similar amount. The markets are thus reacting in a relaxed manner to China’s surprising announcement that it will continue military maneuvers off Taiwan.

According to Ulrich Kater, chief economist at Dekabank, the stock markets are still defying politics. However, the episode surrounding the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives to Taiwan, Nancy Pelosi, indicates that the conflict over the independence of the democratic island republic, which has been smoldering for the last few decades, has entered a new phase. “Nowhere is it clearer that China’s economic strengthening is accompanied by a shift in political and military power,” continued Kater.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro is stable at just under $1.02. In US trading, the common currency was able to make up ground on Friday and continued this development in the morning.

tailwind from China

Positive economic news came from China this morning: unexpectedly strong export growth is giving new impetus to the country’s economic recovery. Exports in US dollar terms rose 18 percent in July from the same period last year, while analysts had predicted a slowdown in export growth. China’s imports, on the other hand, grew slightly less than expected by 2.3 percent in July.

The replacement of Group boss Herbert Diess is changing the balance of power at Volkswagen: the Porsche and Piech families, who call the shots at Europe’s largest car manufacturer via Porsche Automobil Holding SE, want to be more involved in decisions than before, as from the environment of the Supervisory Board can be heard.

“They want to have a closer look at the implementation of the strategic guidelines,” says a person with knowledge of the events of the Reuters news agency. The future CEO Oliver Blume, the preferred candidate of the Porsche Piech clan, should pay more attention to the operative business than his predecessor. Blume should also lead the change initiated by Diess into a leading mobility service provider in calmer waters, according to the families’ wish. However, investors and industry experts object to the fact that the Porsche boss should wear two hats in the future.

Porsche SE, the VW holding company through which the Porsche and Piech families control the group, will be presenting its quarterly figures from 10:00 a.m. today. Investors will be excited about statements about the planned IPO of the sports car manufacturer Porsche AG.

The energy technology group Siemens Energy, which recently came into the limelight because of a turbine for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, is struggling with losses. In the third quarter of the 2022 financial year, a loss after taxes of 533 million euros arose, the company announced today. This was caused by burdens from the restructuring of business in Russia and renewed losses at the Spanish wind energy subsidiary Siemens Gamesa.

In the same period last year, there was a loss of 307 million euros in the books. For the year as a whole, the Group expects a loss after taxes that will exceed the previous year’s level of minus 560 million euros, almost in the amount of the charges in connection with the restructuring of the Russian business. Especially in connection with the problems in Russia, the special effects would have added up to minus 298 million euros in the quarter.