FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – Resurgent economic concerns weighed on the Dax (DAX 40) on Tuesday. The leading German index fell by 0.37 percent to 15,420.08 points by the early afternoon. Since the annual high of 15,658 points almost two weeks ago, the stock market barometer has recently made no more progress – mainly because of the fear of further rising interest rates.
The MDAX of medium-sized stocks lost 0.29 percent on Tuesday to 28,719.67 points. The EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50) as the leading index of euro zone fell 0.51 percent.
Purchasing manager indices from Germany and France were received rather negatively in this country. According to the Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba), the mood in industry was disappointing, while there were renewed improvements in the service sector. The Helaba expert Ulrich Wortberg explained: “There is no reason for the economic optimism to intensify, because overall the figures suggest weak economic momentum.”
In the euro zone as a whole, corporate sentiment continued to improve in February and also more significantly than expected. Bank economists commented on the development mostly positively, but also pointed to the persistently high upward pressure on prices. Together with the tight labor market, this indicates that the European Central Bank is monetary policy will continue to tighten, said the analysis house Capital Economics.
Investors are now looking to Wall Street, which returns from the long weekend on Tuesday. Losses were evident here. After the rally at the start of the year, market strategists such as Mislav Matejka from Bank JPMorgan and Michael Wilson from the financial institution Morgan Stanley now see greater risks of a significant setback.
Investors’ focus is currently primarily on economic data from the USA, which is decisive for the monetary policy of the Fed and should continue to provide fresh impetus for the US bond market. In the past few weeks, yields there have risen sharply in anticipation of further increases in key interest rates. So newly issued bonds are becoming more attractive because they have higher interest rates. The rising capital market interest rates had therefore recently caused share prices to fluctuate on the leading US stock exchanges.
Zalando’s shares in the Dax fell by more than two percent. After successful years in the pandemic, the online fashion retailer is increasingly struggling with consumers’ much lower buying mood. The Berlin company now wants to cut a few hundred jobs, as Zalando bosses Robert Gentz and David Schneider announced in a letter to employees.
At the top of the MDax, ADTRAN’s shares rose by a good six percent. The US telecom supplier returned to profitability in the fourth quarter thanks to a tax credit.
Strong earnings from Engie (Engie (ex GDF Suez)) resulted in good investor sentiment across the European utilities sector. In Germany, RWE shares gained almost three percent as the best value in the Dax.
The euro was last listed at 1.0659 US dollars. The European Central Bank set the reference rate at $1.0674 (Friday: $1.0625) on Monday. The dollar thus cost 0.9369 (0.9412) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.46 percent on the previous day to 2.51 percent. The Rex bond index (REX overall price index) fell by 0.14 percent to 124.83 points. The Bund future lost 0.46 percent to 134.21 points./la/jha/
— By Lutz Alexander, dpa-AFX —