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FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The fear of a sharp rise in interest rates is driving investors back onto the defensive on Friday. After two strong days, the Dax (DAX 40) is showing signs of a setback. An hour before the start of Xetra, the X-Dax as an indicator for the leading German index signaled a drop of 1.4 percent to 14,306 points. After a high for two weeks, the technical chart perspective is clearly clouding over again. The EuroStoxx is also expected to be weaker.
“The turbulence in the markets continues, triggered by further comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell,” the experts at ING Bank wrote in the morning. Despite some good quarterly reports, the New York stock market had continued to slide the night before after Powell talked about a big rate hike. To combat high inflation, the US Federal Reserve is considering raising interest rates by 0.5 percentage points at its next meeting in early May.
“The market is preparing for even more aggressive interest rate moves,” said Commerzbank. Internationally, bond yields rose, which may make fixed income more attractive as an alternative to equities. Market observer Thomas Altmann from QC Partners fears economic consequences. For companies, higher interest rates would be the third major stress factor alongside high energy costs and ongoing supply chain problems.
The company’s reporting season, which the day before was still considered an important driver for the Dax profits, cannot initially give the leading index any positive impetus on Friday. In an initial reaction, a retailer described the numbers from SAP (SAP SE) as mixed. It is encouraging that the software group boosted its growth in the first quarter. However, the operating profit margin is disappointing. Pre-market, SAP shares fell 2.2 percent.
Outside of the Dax, there was good news from Salzgitter the evening before the stock market closed: Thanks to persistently high steel prices and an increased profit contribution from the Aurubis holding, the Group raised its earnings forecast for the current year. Before the market, the titles increased moderately by 0.7 percent. However, they had been particularly popular with investors the day before.
The same was reported the evening before the market closed by the wholesale group Metro, which is also looking more positively at the current financial year. Sales growth of 9 to 15 percent can now be expected, it said. Metro (METRO (St)) had previously assumed 3 to 7 percent. The stocks listed in the SDAX gained 2.8 percent before the market opened.
The titles of the Adler Group (ADLER) were particularly noticeable before the market, with a price jump of 17 percent. The real estate group announced that the auditor KPMG found some deficiencies in a special audit. However, no indications of systematic fraud were found, it said. According to a dealer, this will initially provide relief for the company, which has been plagued by allegations from the investment company Viceroy./tih/jha/