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Bull on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange:

The Dax rises above the 18,300 point mark for the first time

Photo: Boris Roessler / dpa

Dax

investors show no signs of fatigue in the hunt for new highs. The leading German index rose by 0.26 percent to 18,315 points, climbing to a new all-time high. The three interest rate cuts this year promised by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell provided tailwind for the stock markets again last week. The Dax had reached a high in each of the past three trading days. Its increase since the beginning of the year is currently 9 percent.

The

MDax

for medium-sized companies rose by 0.3 percent to 26,733 points. The

EuroStoxx 50

, the leading index for the Euroregion, showed little change. The small value index SDax rose by 0.35 percent to 14,142 points. It had already climbed to its highest level in almost two years on Monday.

Defense stocks continue their record hunt

In the Dax, Rheinmetall

shares, which have been driven by rising defense spending since the Ukraine war,

once again climbed to first place with a premium of 1.7 percent. The stocks of the defense electronics manufacturer

Hensoldt

also continued their recent strong run in the MDax with a plus of 2.7 percent.

US stock markets are falling slightly

Slight price losses characterized the picture on the US stock markets at the start of the week. Traders are waiting for important economic data that could provide further information about the Fed's monetary policy course. The

Dow Jones Industrial

fell 0.4 percent to 39,314 points on Monday, extending Friday's losses. The technology-heavy

Nasdaq 100

fell by 0.3 percent and was most recently quoted at 16,384 points.

The Dow reached a record high on Thursday. Although there is no trading in the USA on Good Friday, economic data will be published. The focus is on the inflation measure PCE, which is viewed by the Fed as the preferred price indicator.

Bitcoin is trading above $70,000

After last week's losses, Bitcoin has recovered somewhat. The cryptocurrency was last quoted at $71,044. In mid-March, the cyber currency reached a record high of $73,794.

Little movement in oil prices

Oil prices barely moved on Tuesday after the surge the day before. Most recently, a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea

Brent

cost $86.69. That was 6 cents less than the evening before. The price of a barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (

WTI

) also fell slightly to $81.91.

After price increases of around one and a half dollars at the start of the week, there was initially no decisive impulse on Tuesday. Support recently came from the slightly weaker dollar, which drove up demand for oil due to exchange rates. The scarce supply from large producing states in OPEC+ and the numerous geopolitical risks provide fundamental support. However, demand for oil, gasoline and diesel is considered to be rather weak due to the economic situation.

With news agencies