Stock exchange in Frankfurt: DAX weakens – Middle East conflict remains in focus

After a weak end to the week, the Dax fell a little again on Monday. The leading German index lost 0.15 percent to 15,163.55 points at midday. The MDax for medium-sized companies fell by 0.06 percent to 24,940.35 points. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 fell by around 0.1 percent.

Price-moving German company news was few and far between on Monday. In view of the developments in the Middle East, the buying interest in arms stocks continued to some extent: In the Dax, Rheinmetall rose in price by 1.3 percent, after having already increased by up to 17 percent last week. In contrast, the recently strong Hensoldt papers were only able to achieve a minimal increase.

For Thyssenkrupp, one of the best MDax stocks, it rose by 1.9 percent – a positively received analyst study on steel competitor Salzgitter could be a price driver here. Its stocks gained four percent as leaders in the SDax small-cap index after the US bank JPMorgan upgraded them.

Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank were among the biggest winners in the Dax with price increases of 3.3 and 1.4 percent respectively. On Friday, both stocks were among the losers despite positive quarterly reports from US competitors. The logistics service provider Kion also suffered price losses before the weekend despite good figures. The shares have now recovered by 1.8 percent.

Pharmaceutical stocks failed to find clear direction after US giant Pfizer significantly lowered its sales target for the year. The shares of Sartorius were unable to stabilize after a new sell recommendation from the French bank Societe Generale – after their recent price slide they lost a further 2.4 percent. Merck stocks, which were hit by Sartorius on Friday, fell 1.1 percent. In contrast, the barely moved Qiagen stocks held up comparatively well.