The German leading index Dax climbed to a record high on Ascension Day. Encouraging economic signals from China and positively received labor market data from the USA provided a tailwind, especially on Thursday afternoon. However, the quiet trading with low sales on the holiday was probably also a key factor for the high: “In the thin market, significantly fewer orders are enough to sustainably move the Dax,” said portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC-Partners. In late trading, the Dax reached its new record of 18,699 points.
“The trade data from China point to a further economic recovery and with these expectations, stocks in export-oriented companies are currently being bought in Europe,” said market expert Andreas Lipkow. In addition, the number of weekly initial jobless claims in the US rose significantly more than expected, fueling hopes of imminent interest rate cuts in the world’s largest economy.