Germany’s benchmark DAX index experienced a shift into negative territory by midday trading Tuesday, following a cautious opening. Around 12:30 PM local time, the index registered 23,970 points, approximately 0.5 percent below its closing value from the previous day. Leading gainers included Sartorius, Siemens Energy and Henkel, while SAP, Hannover Rück and Münchener Rück recorded the most significant losses.
Market analysts at Helaba attributed the subdued performance, in part, to newly released economic expectations from the ZEW economic institute. According to Helaba, the ZEW survey indicates a marked deterioration in sentiment among German financial analysts and asset managers. The ZEW index of expectations, measuring future economic outlook, fell substantially, even falling short of already weak consensus estimates.
The current situation assessment also experienced a considerable decrease. Analysts at Helaba noted that these trends darken the prospects for the German economy and suggest a negative outlook for the upcoming Ifo business climate index. However, the analysts pointed out that this situation could potentially support expectations for interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank.
By midday, the euro exhibited slight weakness, trading at 1.1611 US dollars. Conversely, the US dollar was valued at 0.8612 euros.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose modestly. A barrel of North Sea Brent crude oil traded at 66.86 US dollars around 12:00 PM German time, an increase of 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, from the previous day’s close.
