The German stock market suffered another significant drop in prices on Friday. The DAX ultimately fell by 1.44 percent to 18,002.02 points. This meant it remained just above the 18,000 point mark, below which it had temporarily slipped for the first time in six weeks. The weekly loss of 3 percent was the highest since August last year.
For the MDax, which includes medium-sized German companies, the price boards showed a daily loss of 1.36 percent to 25,719.43 points at the end of trading.
“The shock over the result of the European elections and the upcoming new elections in France is not only felt on the stock exchange in Paris, but also in Frankfurt,” commented analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from the trading house CMC Markets. The possible trade conflict with China is also weighing on the market following the threat of punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. “Next week is therefore likely to be all about attempts at stabilization; more should not be possible in the current situation.”
Capital market strategist Jürgen Molnar from broker RoboMarkets was also pessimistic: “Currently, the chances of a successful preliminary round for the German national football team are higher than for a positive change in mood on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange,” he said, referring to the European Championships starting on Friday evening. In view of the US Federal Reserve’s reluctance to cut interest rates, the interest rate fantasy that has already died down in Europe and the geopolitical crisis areas, “there is currently no really good reason to buy stocks.”
Other European trading centers also felt the effects of this on Friday. The Eurozone’s leading index, the EuroStoxx 50, ended the weekend almost 2 percent lower. In Paris, the decline was even more pronounced, while London managed a moderate loss. The US leading index, the Dow Jones Industrial, fell slightly at the end of European trading, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index managed a slight gain.
Rheinmetall shares and other German defense stocks were once again hit by a wave of profit-taking. Rheinmetall was able to contain the price losses of 9 percent at one point and closed 5.3 percent lower, but remained one of the weakest DAX stocks. Hensoldt in the MDax and the Renk stocks, which are not listed in any major index, each lost 2.9 percent in the end.
Thyssenkrupp shares, which had barely changed, appeared to have stabilized at best after yesterday’s fall to a three-and-a-half-year low. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, US investor Carlyle is stepping up its efforts to acquire the defense subsidiary Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). According to the report, Carlyle could acquire a majority stake in TKMS and the German state bank KfW a blocking minority. Thyssenkrupp would then only hold a minority stake.
On the foreign exchange market, the euro temporarily fell to its lowest level since the beginning of May, but was able to recover somewhat to reach 1.0695 dollars. The European Central Bank (ECB) had previously set the reference rate at 1.0686 dollars.
On the bond market, the yield on bonds fell from 2.61 percent the day before to 2.44 percent. The Rex bond index rose by 0.91 percent to 125.31 points. The Bund future rose by 0.88 percent to 133.01 points.
Source: Stern
