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Trader on the Deutsche Börse:
The Dax remains within sight of its record high
Photo: Boris Roessler / dpa
After the recent upward movement on the German stock market, investors are initially holding back at the start of the new stock market week. The
Dax
recently fell by 0.29 percent to 16,911 points. The leading German index was only 36 points short of a record high on Friday. The stock market barometer still managed a weekly gain of around 2.5 percent. The Eurozone leading index
EuroStoxx 50
was barely changed on Monday.
The companies' quarterly reporting season is slowly getting going.
Stabilus
and
Wacker Chemie,
two MDax companies,
reported on their latest business developments before trading began.
Market-moving economic data is not on the agenda on Monday. Probably the most important date of the week is on Wednesday evening with the meeting of the US Federal Reserve Bank.
Bayer sentenced to record punishment
On the corporate side, investors focused primarily on
Bayer
securities. The shares of the agricultural chemical and pharmaceutical company fell by 4.7 percent and threatened to fall below the 30 euro mark on Monday morning. This is the lowest level in more than 10 years. Since Bayer boss Werner Baumann announced the takeover of Monsanto in September 2016, Bayer's share price has fallen by more than 60 percent.
With an amount of 2.2 billion dollars, US juries have sentenced Bayer to pay the highest damages to date in trials involving weed killers containing glyphosate. The company wants to appeal.
Weak demand and a reduction in inventories by customers have had a significant impact on
Wacker Chemie
in 2023. Sales fell by 22 percent and operating profit (Ebitda) even fell by 60 percent. The bottom line is that Wacker is expected to make a profit of 330 million euros (previous year: 1.28 billion). The company, which specializes in the semiconductor industry, remained slightly below the average analyst estimates. Wacker shares recently lost 2.4 percent.
Stabilus under pressure
The automotive and industrial supplier
Stabilus
increased sales by 5.1 percent in the first quarter (end of December). Revenues in the Americas region fell due to strikes in the US automobile industry. The operating margin fell from 11.2 percent a year earlier to 10.9 percent. The company confirmed its targets for the full year. Stabilus shares fell by 1.6 percent.
Hensoldt
's titles
rose in price by 4.7 percent. Analysts at Citigroup upgraded the defense electronics manufacturer's shares from "Neutral" to "Buy" and increased the price target to 37.70 euros. The shares of
ProSiebenSat.1
also benefited from a buy recommendation and climbed by 4.2 percent.
Intel outlook weighs on Nasdaq
Investors on the US stock exchanges ultimately played it safe on Friday. After new records and before the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week, the willingness to buy waned, which was
already limited given the disappointing
Intel news.
After setting another record, the leading index
Dow Jones Industrial
gave up some of its gains and closed 0.16 percent higher at 38,109 points. On a weekly basis, it achieved an increase of around 0.6 percent. The market-wide
S&P 500
, which had also climbed to a record, turned negative and ended the weekend 0.07 percent lower at 4,890 points.
The
Nasdaq 100
lost 0.55 percent to 17,421 points. In contrast to the other two stock market barometers, the selection index, which is dominated by technology stocks, contains a number of other chip stocks that were also weighed down by industry giant Intel's disappointing outlook for the current quarter. Intel stocks ended their upward trend on Friday and were the biggest loser in the Dow, losing 11.9 percent.
China restricts stock trading, Evergrande is liquidated
New measures to support the market will slow the decline in the Chinese markets on Monday. The lending of certain shares, so-called “restricted shares”, has been prohibited since trading began. The Shanghai stock exchange gained 0.3 percent. The index of major companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen gained 0.1 percent.
In addition, a court in Hong Kong ordered the winding up of the world's most indebted Chinese real estate developer, China Evergrande. While the yuan barely reacted to the news, traders and analysts said the ruling depressed market sentiment. It "reminds investors of the downturn in China's real estate sector," said Ken Cheung, senior foreign exchange strategist for Asia at Mizuho Bank.
A rise in oil prices boosted energy stocks in Japan, while a weaker yen and strong results from other Asian stocks lifted investor sentiment. A weak yen increases profits made abroad. The
Nikkei index,
which includes 225 stocks,
was 1 percent higher at 36,116 points. The broader Topix index rose 1.3 percent to 2,530 points.
Tensions in the Red Sea are causing rising oil prices
Oil prices continued to rise on Monday amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Most recently, a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea
Brent
cost 83.84 US dollars for delivery in March. That was 29 cents more than on Friday. The price of a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (
WTI
) rose 27 cents to $78.28.
In the past week, crude oil prices have increased by about five dollars. The decisive factor is increasing tensions in the region around the Red Sea. On Friday, Yemeni Houthi rebels said they attacked a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden. Three US soldiers were killed in a drone attack in Jordan over the weekend. The risk of an expansion of the Gaza war increases with what is happening.
The Middle East is not only a particularly oil-rich region. There is also an important sea route for oil transport, the Red Sea, which connects Asia with Europe via the Suez Canal. This transport route is currently largely avoided because Houthi militias supported by Iran repeatedly attack ships in the region. The USA and Great Britain responded with military strikes. Risk premiums are therefore rising on the oil market.
With news agencies