FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – Investors on the German stock market digested the latest inflation shock from the USA well on Thursday. After the most important indices had initially dived deep into the red in an initial reaction to the inflation data, they recovered again in late trading. The leading German index (DAX 40) closed 1.51 percent up at 12,355.58 points and thus close to the daily high. In the end, the MDAX for medium-sized companies also gained 1.51 percent, to 22,225.91 points. In the meantime, this stock market barometer had lost 2 percent.
Although high inflation in the USA is tending to recede, it is only declining slightly. Compared to the same month last year, consumer prices rose by 8.2 percent in September. Analysts had expected an average rate of 8.1 percent. In August, the inflation rate was 8.3 percent.
Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, wrote that the inflationary balloon is only slowly deflating. The inflation rate also speaks for a renewed rate hike by the US Federal Reserve by 0.75 percentage points. However, the outlook for further inflationary developments does allow the conclusion that most of the Fed’s work has been done.
The prospect of another significant hike in interest rates in the USA drove bank stocks across Europe and also in Germany: Deutsche Bank (Deutsche Bank) shares at the top of the Dax rose by 7.3 percent and Commerzbank shares moved up in the MDax by 4.8 percent. Higher interest rates would strengthen the profitability of the banks.
Otherwise, Südzucker’s figures were the focus of attention on the German stock market. A surprisingly significant jump in profits in the first half of the financial year and a renewed increase in sales prospects only briefly convinced investors: after a friendly start, the sugar producer’s shares turned negative and ended up losing 2.7 percent. This makes them one of the weakest stocks in the SDAX small-cap index. One trader complained that the earnings momentum was lagging behind the proceeds.
Against this background, the shares of the Südzucker subsidiary CropEnergies also paid tribute to yesterday’s price jump after good business figures: the shares in the biofuel manufacturer fell by around two percent.
At the commercial real estate specialist Aroundtown (Aroundtown SA), a canceled recommendation by the US bank Citigroup had a negative impact: the shares fell by almost eight percent at the end of the MDax after hitting another record low over the course of the year. Analyst Aakanksha Anand is now assuming a more severe recession and only gives a neutral investment rating. Real estate values overall continued to suffer from rising interest rates.
The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50) gained 0.93 percent to 3362.40 points. Its Parisian counterpart, the CAC 40, rose similarly, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose only moderately. The Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial) was up almost 2 percent at the end of European trading.
The euro exchange rate benefited from the recently brightened mood on the financial markets and was quoted at 0.9781 US dollars. The European Central Bank had previously set the reference rate at 0.9739 (Wednesday: 0.9706) dollars. The dollar thus cost 1.0268 (1.0303) euros. On the bond market, the current yield fell from 2.22 percent on the previous day to 2.18 percent. The Rex bond index (REX overall price index) rose by 0.27 percent to 127.05 points. The Bund future rose by 0.08 percent to 136.54 points./la/nas
— By Lutz Alexander, dpa-AFX —