Dusseldorf At the start of the stock exchange in Frankfurt, investors acted cautiously on Wednesday. The leading German index was last down 0.4 percent at 15,037 points after briefly falling below the 15,000 point mark after the publication of the Ifo business climate.
“So far, the Dax has successfully resisted a major setback. However, there is a lack of positive impetus for a further rise in the price,” explained analyst Thomas Altmann from QC Partners. On Tuesday, the Dax closed 0.1 percent lower at 15,093 points.
Only a few impulses came from Asia on Wednesday: The stock markets in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan remain closed due to the Chinese New Year and will not open again until January 30th. The Japanese stock exchanges recorded slight gains.
Mixed signals are coming out of the US, with the Dow Jones blue chips gaining modestly on Tuesday, but the broader S&P 500 and tech Nasdaq falling somewhat. On Wednesday, investors on the US stock exchanges initially held back after bad company figures.
In Germany, too, many market participants are waiting for the publication of further company balance sheets, which are due on Wednesday. “So far, the company figures have not been too bad, but investors are not overjoyed either,” said market strategist Christian Henke from the trading house IG.
The focus is primarily on the e-car manufacturer Tesla and the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, both of which are presenting their figures. Boeing reported an annual loss of 5.05 billion US dollars (around 4.6 billion euros) in the afternoon. The bottom line deficit was even higher than the almost 4.3 billion a year earlier, as the US rival of the European manufacturer Airbus announced on Wednesday in Arlington. Boeing was also in the red in the fourth quarter. CEO Dave Calhoun still rated 2022 as an important year of recovery. Tesla only publishes its figures after the Frankfurt stock exchange closes.
Another important piece of news from the company: Siemens Gamesa shareholders voted on Wednesday, as expected, to delist the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer from the stock exchange. After a public takeover bid, Siemens Energy holds 92.72 percent of the subsidiary Siemens Gamesa. The major shareholder hopes for annual synergies of around EUR 300 million from the complete integration of the holding and wants to achieve the operational turnaround of the Siemens Gamesa business.
Investors are also looking to the publication of the business climate index, which the Ifo Institute presented for the first time in the new year. As expected by experts, the barometer rose to 90.2 points from 88.6 points in December. It’s the fourth climb in a row.
“The fourth rise in the index in a row strengthens the prospect of a trend reversal,” says Alexander Krüger, chief economist at Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe. However, pessimism continues to prevail among the companies surveyed. “Energy costs and material shortages continue to be a challenge for companies. In addition, there is a high risk of setbacks due to the respective corona situation in China.”
The Ifo business climate has recovered significantly, “because the easing on the gas market further reduced the fears of companies of a severe recession,” says Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank. However, he warns that the business climate is still at a level where recessions have regularly occurred in the past. “In addition, the central banks in many countries had to massively raise their key interest rates because of the high inflation. A mild recession remains the more likely scenario.”
In addition, the federal government has presented its annual economic report. She assumes that the economy will grow by 0.2 percent. According to Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, the economic crisis resulting from the Ukraine war is now manageable. According to Habeck, Germany has proven its resilience and has done very well economically. There is no longer any sign of a clear recession.
According to the report, the government is expecting inflation of 6.0 percent for the buying year, and inflation in 2022 was 7.9 percent. In addition, the government is assuming that German exports will grow less strongly and that the labor market will develop largely stably.
Since the beginning of the year, the Dax has recorded strong price gains: the leading index has increased by 8.4 percent overall. Market participants are counting on the economic development in Germany not being as bad as initially feared.
Look at the chart technique
The Dax continued to stay above the 15,000 point mark on Tuesday. This area remains in focus. The first stop-loss marks, which investors use to protect themselves against falling prices, are likely to be just below this level.
From a technical point of view, a healthy consolidation would be beneficial. There is further technical support in the area around 14,800 points, as well as short-term around the current price level of 14,980 points. On the upside, the technical resistance lies at 15,365 points.
Look at the euro and oil
A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in March last cost $85.87. The price for a barrel of the US variety WTI was 80.06 dollars.
The euro was last listed at 1.0908 dollars and thus slightly higher. The European Central Bank had set the reference rate at $1.0858 the day before.
Look at individual values
Daimler trucks: Surprisingly strong business figures from the truck manufacturer Paccar in the USA on the previous day have pushed Daimler Truck’s share price up. Most recently, the papers gained 2.2 percent and thus took the lead in the Dax.
Fresenius: Fresenius shares fell by almost two percent. After several profit warnings and problems, especially at its dialysis subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care (FMC), the hospital and medical group is in turbulence.
Jungheinrich: Jungheinrich’s shares rose by five percent at the top of the MDax. With the acquisition of the Storage Solutions Group, the forklift manufacturer is expanding its warehouse automation business. The acquisition is a “great addition” for the forklift manufacturer, commented a broker.
Rheinmetall: Rheinmetall shares initially rose significantly, but were down 0.2 percent again in the afternoon. According to media reports, Germany will deliver the Leopard main battle tank, manufactured by the armaments company, to Ukraine. “While the direct financial impact would be limited, it would create a very positive sentiment for the stocks,” said one trader.
More: Which stocks benefit from falling inflation.