Stock market week: five percent inflation

CureVac's stock price chart looks like a mountain range with four peaks and deep valleys in between.

Since last autumn, the title has given rise to hope that the breakthrough for the mRNA vaccine against the coronavirus could come.

But the Tübingen-based biotech company remains on a mountain-and-valley ride.

Philipp Krohn

Editor in business, responsible for “People and Business”.

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On Friday it went down by almost 14 percent at times, so that the share was at its lowest price in five weeks at less than 75 euros.

Investors are impatient that the approval of the drug is being further delayed.

The price slide was already a fifth on Tuesday.

On Friday it became known that the Federal Ministry of Health is initially not counting on CureVac in the national vaccination campaign.

That being said, this trading week was determined by a single number.

In the United States, the inflation rate rose to 5 percent.

It is the first time since the financial crisis year 2008 that inflation has reached this level.

Experts had expected a price increase of 3.4 percent

Although experts had already expected a significant increase in view of the rapid economic recovery after the Corona crisis, even they were surprised by the extent.

On average, they had only expected a price increase of 3.4 percent.

Now they were surprised, but not yet alarmed either.

Higher inflation is also forecast in Europe - although not as high an increase in all countries as in Germany.

Here, too, some of the predictions are above 4 percent.

In the euro area as a whole, however, it is likely to be well below that.

There is a growing minority of observers on the markets who now expect a change in monetary policy, at least in America, but possibly also in Europe in the not too distant future.

But for now there was no sign of it.

In the context of the situation described, the Council meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday was considered to be trend-setting in advance.

Some had already spoken of a “super Thursday”.

The European Central Bank sees no need for action for the time being

Judging by this, the subsequent communication from the central bank was downright boring.

Neither the level of interest rates nor the scope of the intervention via the purchase of bonds nor the wording for the coming months changed.

The bond purchases should turn out to be “significantly” higher in the third quarter than in the first quarter.

That corresponded to the previous language regulation.

"We believe that a steady hand is the right decision," said President Christine Lagarde at the press conference. The economic situation is more stable, but it is still too early to forego bond purchases. The ECB decision and its explanation by Lagarde did not have any strong fluctuations in the share prices on the German stock exchange. The yield on ten-year Bunds rose at least to 1.52 percent at times, with which institutional investors can at least achieve useful returns in order to service their obligations to their customers.

The Euro Stoxx 50 of the 50 largest industrial companies in the euro area stands at more than 4100 points. It is not worth noting further highs, as the prices are steadily advancing in small steps. Since an interim low at the end of October, prices have continued to develop unabated. The same applies to the Dax, which shows the development of the most important German companies. The economic data are positive. The US labor market data from last week showed economic optimism in the United States.

With the ups and downs currently experienced, the biotech company CureVac is currently rather an exception. The vaccination campaign is proceeding at a fairly rapid pace. The vaccine of the Tübingen, some of which is state-owned, is no longer needed for the time being. But the company had cope with setbacks after founder Ingmar Hoerr's stroke shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic and the disagreements over an alleged American takeover offer to the investor Dietmar Hopp. And the vaccine project, which was also aimed at international marketing from the outset, may still be needed if a large proportion of the population in Germany has already been vaccinated.