FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The fear of rapidly rising interest rates had the German stock market under control again on Wednesday. Before the publication of the most recent meeting minutes of the US Federal Reserve, investors withdrew in the evening, the Dax (DAX 40) fell by 1.21 percent in the afternoon to 13,741.61 points. The leading German index lost sight of the round mark of 14,000 points, which it had approached to a good 50 points the day before.
The MDAX of medium-sized companies fell by 1.28 percent to 27,749.13 points in the middle of the week. The leading eurozone index, the EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50), fell by 0.7 percent.
Inflation in Europe remains a stress factor, wrote analyst Christian Henke from Broker IG, referring to the latest data from Great Britain. The high inflation there accelerated again in July, with double-digit growth. This is fueling speculation about an even more rigid interest rate policy by the Bank of England and the German stock market is not entirely unaffected, explained market expert Andreas Lipkow from Comdirect.
In the USA, too, the sharp increase in prices is dampening consumer spending. Retail sales stagnated in July. Overall, they probably do not contribute to more economic optimism, according to the Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen about the data. “Regardless of this, the Fed will probably stick to its goal of further increasing the key interest rate range.” The Fed is taking action to combat inflation with sharp interest rate hikes. For the stock markets was theirs monetary policy one of the central stress factors so far this year.
The ailing energy group Uniper, which after losing billions in the wake of a lack of Russian gas deliveries, only sees improvement in the coming years, had its half-year figures in view. In the first six months, Düsseldorf slipped deep into the red. The titles listed in the MDax fell by more than nine percent. A trader said the final figures were as disastrous as expected. “But it is even worse that there is not even a small glimmer of hope for better times, both in the figures and in the outlook,” wrote capital market strategist Jürgen Molnar from broker Robomarkets.
Delivery Hero (Delivery Hero) fell by 1.5 percent in the MDax after their high increase the previous day. A critical report in the “Handelsblatt” on delivery services dampened the mood. At the same time, some analysts have now raised their price targets after the company’s statements on profitability, which were recently received positively. Other Internet stocks, such as those of the recipe box sender HelloFresh and the fashion retailer Zalando in the Dax, also posted high discounts of 6.3 and 5.1 percent. They are among financing-dependent growth stocks that are suffering from higher interest rates.
Real estate values were weak across Europe amid rising interest rates and high inflation. On the German market, Vonovia (Vonovia SE (ex Deutsche Annington)), TAG Immobilien and Grand City Properties posted price losses of between three and five percent. Adler Group (ADLER) in the SDax even lost nine percent.
The euro cost 1.0158 US dollars in the afternoon. The European Central Bank (ECB) set the reference rate at $1.0131 on Tuesday. On the bond market, the current yield rose from 0.82 percent on the previous day to 0.97 percent. In contrast, the Rex bond index (REX overall price index) fell by 0.75 percent to 135.37 points. The Bund future fell in the afternoon by 1.17 percent to 154.11 points./ajx/jha/
— By Achim Jüngling, dpa-AFX —