On Tuesday, the DAX continued its recovery gains from the start of the week after initially only changing slightly.
The DAX appears to be able to defend its solid start to the week on Tuesday. At the start of trading it fell 0.27 percent to 23,500.34 points. Afterwards he oscillated between loss and profit zones. In the afternoon things pick up.
Low trade turnover despite the Iran war
However, the slight increase in oil prices remains in focus, even if most investors have “obviously decided to ride out the current crisis without major trading activity” in view of trading turnover, as portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC Partners said.
Oil prices remain the tipping point
A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent crude oil currently costs $102, around one percent more than the day before. The high was just under $120 around a week ago, which was the highest level since 2022 and had fueled severe economic and inflation concerns. The focus is therefore on all news about the most important supply route for energy supplies, the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively blocked by Iran.
Fed & ECB in view: week of the interest rate decision
However, the major central banks are also increasingly coming into focus. The US Federal Reserve Bank will decide on its key interest rate on Wednesday, the ECB on Thursday, and the key interest rates will also be decided in Great Britain and Japan this week.
Spontaneous interest rate changes in the USA and the Euro region this week are viewed as unlikely, but it is hoped that “the written statements or at least the question and answer sessions will provide more insight into whether the expectation of rising key interest rates in the Eurozone and the lack of interest rate cuts in the USA is correct,” said Altmann.
ZEW data paints a bleak picture
The economic expectations for Germany determined by the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) fell far more significantly than expected in March. As the ZEW announced, the index of economic expectations fell to minus 0.5 (February: plus 58.3) points. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had only forecast a decline to 38.5. The situation assessment index improved to minus 62.9 (minus 65.9) points. The forecast was minus 64.5.
DAX record last in January
On January 13th, the DAX reached an all-time high of 25,507.79 points, exceeding the 25,500 point threshold for the first time in its history. Ultimately, it ended the day at 25,420.66 points, which was a new record based on the closing price.
Bettina Schneider, Alexandra Hesse, Melanie Schürmann, Benedict Kurschat, finanzen.net editorial team with material from dpa-AFX and Dow Jones Newswires
