Dusseldorf Investors in the German stock market are cautious ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting. The leading index Dax was slightly up on Thursday afternoon at 14,089 points. Among the individual stocks, Daimler Truck, Puma and Airbus were among the winners with growth of up to 1.3 percent.
On Wednesday, the Frankfurt stock exchange barometer was 0.3 percent weaker at 14,076 points. The trading range (13,962 to 14,100 points) moved completely within that of the previous day (13,887 to 14,180 points) – a so-called inside day. In technical analysis, this is interpreted as the market being undecided about direction. The breakout of this narrow trading range then indicates the further direction.
Support comes from the USA and Asia on Thursday: in New York the previous day, the market-wide index S&P 500 had increased by one percent and the tech index Nasdaq 100 by two percent.
The background for the upswing was still Tuesday’s inflation figures: since core inflation rose less quickly than expected, this fuels hopes that inflation may soon have peaked. US Treasury yields have since stabilized and the dollar has weakened slightly.
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Prices also rose in Asia on Thursday morning. Here the stock exchanges also benefited from the expectation that the Chinese central bank could lower its key interest rate in order to strengthen the economy. The economic outlook has deteriorated due to the recent corona outbreak and the tough lockdowns.
However, the analysts at Helaba do not yet see any sign of the all-clear: “Since there are no signs of easing in the Ukraine conflict, the willingness to take risks remains low. The technical picture is also clouded as long as the Dax is listed below the resistance in the range of 14,300 to 14,360 points.”
However, the European Central Bank (ECB) could cause movement during the course of the day. This will publish its interest rate decision in the afternoon (1.45 p.m.), ECB President Christine Lagarde will then explain the decisions in a press conference (from 2.30 p.m.).
>> Read about this: These three points are important at the ECB meeting.
Market traders expect that the ECB could already react to the rising inflation in this session. So far, the end of the billion-dollar bond purchases is planned as a preliminary stage of a turnaround in interest rates, if possible in the summer. Lagarde is increasingly under pressure, says Christian Henke from Broker IG. “However, as a result of the Ukraine war, the topic of a turnaround in interest rates could continue to be put on the back burner.”
As a result, there is also potential for disappointment in the markets, write the Helaba experts in their analysis: “Should the ambitious interest rate expectations be corrected somewhat, the bond market would be supported.” Spiked to 92.34. At the same time, the return rose from minus 0.069 to as much as 0.813 percent.
Look at the individual values
Twitter: The Twitter share increases by more than ten percent on the Tradegate trading platform. The trigger is the news that Tesla boss Elon Musk has made a “best and final” offer to buy the short message service. After the purchase, Musk announced that he would take Twitter private.
Musk said he sees extraordinary potential in the company that he wants to develop. The world’s richest man will offer $54.20 per share in cash, a premium of 54 percent over the closing price on Jan. 28 and a value of approximately $43 billion.
Valneva: Great Britain was the first country to give the green light to the corona vaccine from the French pharmaceutical company Valneva. The responsible supervisory authority MHRA approved the application for people between the ages of 18 and 50 on Thursday. The share then rose sharply, and trading on the Euronext stock exchange was therefore temporarily suspended. On the Tradegate trading platform, Valneva shares rose by more than ten percent.
Volkswagen: Despite the war in Ukraine and faltering production due to the fight against corona in China, Volkswagen made billions in profits at the beginning of the year. The Wolfsburg-based company benefited massively from financial instruments with which the group has hedged against the rise in raw material prices. The operating result before special items jumped to around 8.5 billion euros in the first quarter, as the carmaker reported on Thursday based on initial estimates. The stock is still down almost 2 percent.
Delivery Hero: The Dax also focuses on Delivery Hero shares. They continued their weak week with a minus of two percent. Since the beginning of the year, the food supplier’s shares have lost 70 percent – the worst value in the Dax. However, the industry as a whole is currently in a difficult position. Bank of America has now downgraded Delivery Hero from “neutral” to “underperform”.
Lufthansa: In the MDax, the Lufthansa share is accelerating its recovery from the previous day. With an increase of two percent, it is one of the best values in the index of medium-sized stocks. They benefited from an industry-wide boost, which also benefited Fraport: Shares in the airport operator were at the top of the MDax with a plus of 2.5 percent. Aviation stocks were helped by low-cost carrier Wizz Air’s outlook for a good quarter.
Drägerwerk: A cautious forecast for the year means that the shares of the medical technology manufacturer in the SDax slip by more than seven percent. The company is initially sticking to its outlook. Due to increasing difficulties in the delivery of electronic components, however, only the lower end of the forecast range can be expected, the company announced.
ericsson The Swedish network supplier fears a fine from the US authorities for possible bribes to Iraqi militias. The amount of the fine cannot be estimated. Ericsson also announced a decline in quarterly operating profit to 4.7 (previous year: 5.3) billion Swedish crowns (455 million euros). The share fell by more than seven percent in Stockholm.
Oil prices fall
Oil prices eased after two straight days of gains. In the morning, a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent cost US$ 108.05. That was 73 cents less than on Wednesday. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $1.13 to $103.12.
Most recently, the prospect of rising demand for crude oil had driven prices after the otherwise strict corona measures in the Chinese financial metropolis Shanghai had been relaxed. As the second largest economy in the world, China is one of the most important oil consumers. In addition, the country’s central bank is likely to take further measures to support the flagging economy.
However, there are currently arguments in favor of an increasing oil supply, which is likely to cause oil prices to fall. US inventories of crude oil have risen surprisingly significantly in the past week, as was announced on Wednesday. In addition, the member states of the International Energy Agency have released national oil reserves in order to mitigate the economic consequences of the Ukraine war.
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