Dax plunges to nine-month lows, shares of Mercedes

Highlights: Dax plunges to nine-month lows, shares of Mercedes. The Dax falls to its lowest level since January. Mercedes shares are coming under pressure after weak numbers. Siemens Energy's share price slumps by 30 percent in the Dax. The European Central Bank's (ECB) key interest rate decision is due in the afternoon. The majority of market observers assume that there will be no further hike this Thursday after ten interest rate hikes. The price of a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 17 cents to $85.22.

The Dax falls to its lowest level since January. Mercedes shares are coming under pressure after weak numbers. Siemens Energy's share price slumps by 30 percent in the Dax.

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Dax with losses: The high losses on the Nasdaq weigh on the German benchmark index

Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst/ DPA

Downward on the stock market: The Dax continued its downward slide on Thursday and temporarily fell to its lowest level in 9 months. Most recently, the German benchmark index was 1.4 percent weaker and only just above the 14,700 point mark. The MDax and EuroStoxx50 also fell significantly. The evening before, the US tech exchange Nasdaq had accelerated its downward trend, which is putting additional pressure on the European stock markets today.

The European Central Bank's (ECB) key interest rate decision is due in the afternoon. The majority of market observers assume that there will be no further hike this Thursday after ten interest rate hikes. Inflationary pressures are now easing and the economy is weakening.

Shares of Mercedes-Benz and Siemens Energy under pressure

The shares of Mercedes-Benz recently recorded a discount of 5.6 percent. Due to fierce competition in the car business, the Stuttgart-based company is becoming more cautious with its forecast for the year as a whole.

In addition, the shares of the energy technology company Siemens Energy slumped by around 30 percent. According to a report by SPIEGEL, the company is negotiating with the federal government for state guarantees in the billions.

After disappointing customer figures from Hellofresh in the third quarter, the share price of the mail-order company of meal kits slumped by 12.7 percent. The strong euro and weaker demand due to the holidays gave the meal kit mail-order company a meagre third quarter.

Rheinmetall shares rose by 3.82 percent, and the industrial group once again benefited from the arms and ammunition business. Based on preliminary figures, operating profit increased by almost two-thirds to EUR 191 million compared to the same period of the previous year. Rheinmetall thus significantly exceeded expectations.

Nasdaq with significant losses, waiting for Amazon and Meta

The significant price losses at Alphabet after disappointing quarterly results dragged the US stock markets down the day before. The Dow Jones index of standard stocks closed 0.3 percent lower at 33,035 points on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 2.4 percent to 12,821 points. The broad-based S&P 500 lost 1.4 percent.

The shares of the software giant Microsoft, on the other hand, rose by a good three percent. The Windows group's revenue rose 13 percent to $56.5 billion in the first quarter, thanks to a strong business in the cloud and other divisions. This exceeded expert expectations. Now investors are waiting for the balance sheets of Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday evening and online retailer Amazon on Thursday.

Asia's stock markets weaker

The main stock markets in Asia were unable to escape the weakness of the US markets on Thursday. Technology stocks, in particular, were under pressure. The renewed rise in US Treasury yields is weighing on the markets. In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index recently fell by 2 percent.

Bitcoin Continues Rally

Bitcoin, on the other hand, continued its rally. The most important cryptocurrency advanced by a good three percent to around $34,759. Investors were hoping that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would soon give the green light to the first Bitcoin spot ETF. In November 2022, the currency had plummeted from over $21,000 to around $16,000 in the wake of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. A year earlier, Bitcoin reached a record high of $69,000.

Oil prices fall

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent crude for delivery in December cost $89.91 in the morning. That was 22 cents less than the day before. The price of a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 17 cents to $85.22.

As a result, the quotations on the oil market were able to stabilize for the time being, after rising sharply in the middle of the week. Israel's announcement that it intends to stick to a planned ground offensive in the Gaza Strip had given oil prices a significant boost on Wednesday. The war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas has recently repeatedly caused strong price movements.

Concerns about a possible spread of the conflict to other countries in the Middle East remain the dominant theme in the oil market. The rise in oil prices has been slowed by the recent development of oil reserves in the United States. The day before, it had become known that American crude oil inventories had surprisingly risen by around 1.4 million barrels last week. Rising oil reserves in the U.S. tend to weigh on oil prices.

With news agencies