The DAX began Thursday in relatively calm waters but slipped into the red zone by midday. At around 12:30 p.m. local time the index settled at 24,565 points, roughly 0.2 % below the previous day’s closing level. The best‑performing stocks were Deutsche Börse, SAP and Siemens, while the lowest were Rheinmetall, Volkswagen and BMW.
Market participants were again confronted with increased volatility in the precious‑metal markets and weaker corporate earnings. “Shell suffered from lower oil prices and posted results below market expectations” explained market analyst Andreas Lipkow. “The Bank of England and the ECB meetings are unlikely to change rates, and their press conferences are expected to deliver little surprise, so investors are more inclined to lock in gains and adopt sideline positions”.
The euro slipped against the U.S. dollar by Thursday afternoon: one euro was worth 1.1789 USD, and one dollar bought 0.8482 EUR.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell sharply. A barrel of Brent from the North Sea was trading at about 68.62 USD at 12:00 p.m. German time, a decline of 84 cents or 1.2 % from the previous close.
