The German DAX index opened with minimal change Tuesday morning. Around 9:30 AM local time, the benchmark index was calculated at approximately 24,300 points, 0.1 percent below the closing level from the previous day. Leading the gainers were Infineon, Zalando and Siemens. Shares of Qiagen, Siemens Energy and Rheinmetall posted the steepest declines.
Market analyst Thomas Altmann of QC Partners noted that a significant breakthrough in geopolitical negotiations remains elusive. He indicated that progress is being made through bilateral and trilateral summit discussions, but cautioned that investors should anticipate a potentially extended timeframe. A trilateral summit could occur in roughly three weeks, according to Altmann.
Consequently, the situation in Ukraine may temporarily recede as a primary market driver, with more conventional economic factors likely to exert greater influence on trading activity.
Altmann also observed a growing sense of caution amongst investors, characterizing the DAX as an index of those adopting a wait-and-see approach. Trading volume fell to the fourth-lowest level of the year on Monday, surpassed only by levels recorded on the US Independence Day holiday and German public holidays like Whit Monday and Ascension Day. This reflects a reluctance to reposition portfolios aggressively, driven by both the potential for a positive market response to positive developments and the fear of being caught out by a setback in negotiations.
The Euro demonstrated moderate strength against the US dollar Tuesday morning, trading at 1.1675 US dollars. Conversely, one US dollar was valued at 0.8565 Euros.
Oil prices declined; Brent crude was trading at 66.01 US dollars per barrel around 9:00 AM Central European Time, a decrease of 59 cents, or 0.9 percent, from the previous day’s closing price.
