FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The Dax (DAX 40) ended a weak stock market week on Friday with strong price gains. Market observers spoke of purchases by bargain hunters, and there was also a tailwind from Wall Street, which was also positive in the wake of robust US economic data. “The sell-off is followed by an attempt to recover this time,” commented portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC Partners on the market development.
The leading German index continued to extend its lead in late trading and started the weekend with a premium of 2.76 percent to 12,864.72 points – thereby curbing the weekly loss to just over one percent. The MDAX of medium-sized listed companies increased by 2.21 percent to 25,557.64 points.
The other leading European stock exchanges were also clearly up after the previous day’s significant losses: The EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50) climbed by 2.4 percent. The stock exchanges in Paris and London also posted strong growth. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial) was up two percent at the European close.
According to Altmann, it was “on the one hand the classic bargain hunters who sense good entry opportunities at the current price level”. There are also “convenience purchases because Mario Draghi is still Prime Minister of Italy this morning after his resignation request was rejected”.
Jochen Stanzl from CMC Markets saw the better-than-expected retail data in the USA as an important reason that prevented the Dax from slipping further: the good data did not reduce the likelihood that the US Federal Reserve would change interest rates in two weeks raise a percentage point. “But in any case they alleviate the recession worries that currently prevail among investors.”
Unlike the day before, the mixed quarterly reports from other major US banks left investors in Germany cold. On Thursday, disappointing numbers from industry representatives (Morgan Stanley) weighed on the Dax.
In the run-up to the reporting season, which is also starting in Germany, Lufthansa (Lufthansa) surprisingly rushed ahead with preliminary quarterly results: the airline managed to return to the black in the second quarter of the year, thanks to the strong freight and maintenance business. For the share, this meant an increase of almost seven percent at the closing bell and first place in the MDax.
In line with the strong price recovery in the car sector across Europe, the shares of Volkswagen (Volkswagen (VW) vz) and the group holding company Porsche SE (Porsche SE Vz) were among the best index values in the Dax with increases of a good five and a half and almost five percent respectively – supplemented by automotive supplier Continental, which performed similarly well. The premium car manufacturers Mercedes (Mercedes-Benz Group (ex Daimler))-Benz (Mercedes-Benz Group (ex Daimler)) and BMW followed at a slight distance, each with an increase of around four percent.
In the environment of the Volkswagen Group, investors are now eagerly awaiting a capital market day, which is due next Monday for the VW (Volkswagen (VW) vz) sports stomach brand, which operates under the name of Porsche AG. There has long been speculation about an IPO.
Software AG (Software) shares were able to contain their daily loss to 0.30 percent by the end of trading, but were therefore among the weakest values in the MDax. Previously, they had slipped at a discount of more than eight percent to their lowest level since spring 2020. The group lowered its annual target for incoming orders in the digitization division.
In the back rows of stock exchanges, Drgerwerk titles lost almost two percent – the medical and safety technology group had previously reported a significant drop in sales and earnings. The company, which is listed in the SDAX small-cap index, has “another horror quarter” behind it, wrote a dealer. The forecast for the year, which was nonetheless confirmed, apparently did not reconcile investors.
The euro recently rose to just under 1.0087 US dollars. The European Central Bank had set the reference rate at $1.0059 in the afternoon.
The current yield on German Bunds fell from 1.09 percent the previous day to 0.95 percent. The Rex bond index (REX overall price index) rose by 0.70 percent to 135.74 points. The Bund future gained 0.24 percent to 153.07 points./tav/he
— By Tanja Vedder, dpa-AFX —