FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – Interest rate and thus also economic concerns continue to have the German stock market under control. Major indices were weak on Thursday while bond market yields rose. The minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting, published the previous evening, indicated that the door remains open for further interest rate hikes. When interest rates are high, fixed income securities become more attractive than riskier investments such as stocks.
The local leading index Dax (DAX 40) lost 0.71 percent on the penultimate trading day of the week and slipped to 15,676.90 points below the important support of 15,700 points. The buyers who had become active in the previous tests in this area have now apparently withdrawn, said analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from broker CMC Markets. The MDAX for medium-sized companies on Thursday fell a little more clearly than the Dax, down 1.07 percent to 27,518.51 points.
Jürgen Molnar, capital market strategist at Robomarkets, wrote with a view to the Fed minutes: “Investors are slowly realizing that interest rates will remain at the high level for a long time until the first interest rate cuts are even considered by the central bank.” /ajx/he