The German stock market rose moderately on Thursday. The Dax made up for its initial losses over time and turned positive, but it fell apart again in recent trading and ultimately failed to reach the 17,000 mark. However, Tuesday's all-time high of around 17,050 points is still within reach. In the end, the leading index gained 0.25 percent to 16,963.83 points. The MDax of the 50 mid-sized stocks rose 0.29 percent to 25,785.98 points.
“The 17,000 point mark is proving difficult for the German stock index. Currently, neither good quarterly numbers nor fantasies of interest rate cuts allow the index to jump high enough above this bar without ultimately knocking it down again,” explained analyst Konstantin Oldenburger of CMC Markets. “The discrepancy between the market's aggressive expectations for lower interest rates and the modest indications from central banks could at some point become a real problem for the stock market,” Oldenburger believes.
Siemens, with strong price fluctuations, closes slightly positive
The major European stock exchanges mainly recorded price increases. The eurozone's leading index, EuroStoxx 50, closed up 0.68 percent to 4,710.78 points. Paris' Cac 40 posted a similar rise, while London's FTSE 100 fell around 0.4 percent. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial lost 0.3 percent in European trading.
In addition to the records on both sides of the Atlantic, the quarterly balance sheets of companies continue to arouse interest. Siemens shares made up for initial price losses and even reached an all-time high of 1.8 percent. Initially, investors complained about the poor performance of the automation and digitalization division in the first quarter. But then the unexpectedly profitable Smart Infrastructure division came into the picture and drove up the price. Siemens shares closed with a gain of 1.0 percent.
Bioenergy manufacturer Verbio is strong by the numbers: up 18 percent
The annual figures from Deutsche Börse caused the market operator's price to rise by 0.9 percent. The company continued its strong development in 2023 thanks to higher interest rates and acquisitions, and profits were higher than ever. Both last year's results and the outlook for 2024 were in line with experts' expectations.
Bayer shares fell 3.3 percent after a US court overturned the recent approval of certain herbicides from Bayer and BASF. BASF investors took it easier and the share price rose 0.3 percent.
Among second-tier stocks, Nemetschek shares rose 7 percent. The construction software developer made more profits than expected in 2023. Investors were also pleased with the business figures of biofuel manufacturer Verbio. Shares soared nearly 18 percent.
Hamborner Reit increases dividends
Hamborner Reit shares rose 2.4 percent. The commercial real estate specialist had increased the dividend. The prospect of falling container freight rates for the rest of the year sent Hapag-Lloyd shares down more than 9 percent.
In the currency market, the euro fell slightly again to 1.0760 US dollars. The ECB set the reference rate at $1.0758 in the afternoon.
Current yield rises to 2.32 percent
In the bond market, the current yield on German federal bonds rose from 2.30 percent the day before to 2.32 percent. The Rex bond index fell 0.07 percent to 125.70 points. The Bund future fell 0.25 percent to 133.63 points.