On Thursday, the Dax crowned its rally at the beginning of the year by jumping over the 15,000 point mark.

The index benefited from a continued friendly mood on the stock market and most recently increased by 0.5 percent to 15,028 points.

Since the beginning of the year, the Dax has risen by almost 8 percent.

The market-wide FAZ index also gained 0.5 percent on Thursday to 2391 points and has thus risen by almost 9 percent since the beginning of the year.

While the Dax exceeded the price level at which it was moving before the Russian attack on Ukraine a few days ago, the FAZ index is still more than 100 points below it.

Easing worries about further sharp rises in interest rates are buoying the stock market as inflationary pressures appear to be easing.

In Europe, investors are encouraged by falling gas prices.

In the USA, the recent significant interest rate hikes by the Fed seem to be having an effect.

Yields tend to fall in the bond market.

However, the afternoon could show whether the recent rally has feet of clay or whether it will continue.

Then, with the consumer prices for December in the USA, an important signal for the further course of the Fed will be published.

Like the market as a whole, Bank Credit Suisse expects core inflation, excluding the particularly volatile food and energy prices, to have fallen slightly to 5.7 percent compared to November.

The inflation data from the USA have both the potential to raise the Dax above 15,000 points in the long term and to at least significantly interrupt the rally of the first two stock market weeks of the year, wrote capital market strategist Jürgen Molnar from the trading house Robomarkets.

The leading index has been up by more than 3,000 points since the beginning of October last year.

There is likely to be a high willingness to take profits in the event of disappointment.

The optimistic expectation ahead of the numbers could make any correction much harder, Molnar continued.

On the other hand, there are still enough investors who have so far only accompanied the rally with a shake of the head, but are likely to lose patience at some point in waiting for cheaper prices again.

"If the wild ride at the beginning of the year continues, these investors would become the catalyst for the rally," the expert summed up.