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Trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbolic image): The Gaza war worries investors

Photo: Daniel Roland / AFP

Germany's leading index, the Dax, lost 1.23 percent at midday – at 14,859.81 points, it was below the symbolically important mark of 15,000 points. The level was the lowest in almost seven months.

The Dax thus followed the weak guidelines from overseas - on a weekly basis, a loss of 2.2 percent is on the horizon. The MDAX of medium-sized companies lost 1.25 percent to 24,132.35 points on Friday. The Eurozone benchmark index EuroStoxx 50 fell by 1.2 percent.

The day before, the Dax had already fallen below 15,000 points in the course of trading for the first time since the beginning of October, but had recovered somewhat. Stock markets around the world are suffering from concerns about an escalation of the war between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. A conflagration in the Middle East could also have far-reaching consequences for the global economy, for example for energy supplies.

The nervousness was particularly noticeable in the commodity market, where the price of oil rose again. The price of North Sea Brent rose by up to 1.5 percent to 93.79 dollars per barrel. U.S. WTI oil was temporarily trading 90.78 percent higher at $1.6 per barrel. Since Hamas' invasion, oil prices have skyrocketed by around <> percent.

Value of gold increased

Gold was also in high demand, which investors see as a safe haven in times of crisis. The precious metal was trading at just under $2000,<> per troy ounce. The price thus gained almost three percent in the past week. However, it is doubtful whether the recent gold bull market is sustainable, LBBW analysts explained in a commentary. The strong dollar and rising interest rates suggest that there is definitely a need for correction.

Among the individual stocks, MDax stocks were the main topic of discussion on the German stock market. The mechanical engineering company Dürr had to lower its targets for 2024, and the share price collapsed by up to 21.6 percent at times. As a result, shares were weakest since May 2020. Nevertheless, shares of SMA Solar replaced the mechanical engineering company Dürr as the MDax laggard. Quarterly figures from the U.S. company SolarEdge, which were received with disappointment, caused problems for the solar technology group.

Metro shares held up comparatively well despite the decline in sales in the past quarter, down 0.3 percent. With a price decline of almost a third since the beginning of the year, the shares are among the biggest losers in the SDax small-cap index.

The pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier Sartorius, on the other hand, continues to slide: With a price decline of 3.8 percent, it was the biggest loser in the Dax and marked a low since May 2020.

With a plus of 0.8 percent, the shares of the cosmetics manufacturer Beiersdorf were among the few winners in the German leading index.

kko/dpa/Reuters