FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The 16,000-point mark remains the focus of Dax (DAX 40) investors. After the rally on Friday, the leading German index stayed just below this psychologically important hurdle at the start of the week, but hardly moved. It was similar on Tuesday.
With an increase of 0.09 percent to 15,938.36 points, the leading index hardly moved from the spot in early trading. The MDAX lost 0.70 percent to 27,349.38 points. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50) fell by 0.36 percent to 4333.16 points.
“With the 16,000 mark right in front of the nose, the German share index is standing still again. There is still a lack of positive impulses to attract buyers to the market at the high level and because of the many uncertainties,” said capital market strategist Jürgen Molnar from Robomarkets. For four weeks, the Dax has been in a range of around 400 points or just over two percent. He gets support under 15,700 points, but so far it’s over at 16,000.
On Wednesday, the inflation data from Germany and the USA could possibly see more movement in the market. The impending default by the United States will also remain in sight if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling soon.
On the company side, Daimler Truck with the final quarterly figures and Fresenius with the first key figures were the main focus from the leading index. The commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck almost tripled its profit in the first quarter. However, the North American business, which according to Goldman analyst Daniela Costa is Daimler Truck’s “highest-margin business”, was probably disappointing. The share lost 3.6 percent at the end of the index.
In contrast, the Fresenius (Fresenius SECo) share jumped to the top of the Dax with a plus of 5.0 percent. The hospital operator and medical group had a surprisingly dynamic start to the new year. Sales rose moderately, and although the operating result adjusted for special effects fell, it was still significantly better than analysts had expected. In the MDax, the stock from FMC (Fresenius Medical Care) gained 1.0 percent. The dialysis subsidiary also exceeded the estimates with its operating result, but these were generally quite undemanding, restricted Bernstein analyst Lisa Bedell Clive.
Vague takeover speculation gave the RWE share a plus of 1.1 percent. Traders pointed to a report by Spanish online magazine OK Diario that Spanish utility Iberdrola (Iberdrola SA) is said to be exploring a purchase of RWE with the backing of US bank JPMorgan to solidify its leadership in renewable energy. However, the report also said that an Iberdrola spokesman told the magazine that he was considering such a takeover.
K+S (K+S), bringing up the rear in the MDax, lost 5.4 percent because the fertilizer manufacturer became more cautious about the current year. He lowered his operating profit guidance range and also lowered free cash flow. In the SDax, Wacker Neuson (Wacker Neuson SE) fell by 3.7 percent. However, the construction machinery manufacturer had presented strong quarterly figures. Now profit-taking followed, because the price increase since the end of September has now amounted to a whopping 80 percent.
Changes in the composition of the MDax and SDAX were also considered. SMA Solar took the place of drug researcher Evotec (EVOTEC SE) in the mid-cap index. The share had temporarily reached a record high of 109 euros the day before, but then fell back a bit. Now it went a little further down. Due to a cyber attack, Evotec did not manage to submit its audited annual report on time and had to leave the index. For SMA, Süss Microtec (SÜSS MicroTec SE) moves up into the index for the smaller stocks below the MDax. This share also fell by 1.2 percent./ck/mis