The DAX closed essentially unchanged on Thursday after spending most of the day in the black. At Xetra’s close it stood at 24,853 points, down 0.01 % compared with the previous day’s settlement. The top of the price list was held by Deutsche Telekom, Continental and Hannover Re, while Heidelberg Materials, Scout24 and Deutsche Post finished at the bottom.
According to Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, “thanks to the price gains of its old and new heavyweights-Siemens, Deutsche Telekom and SAP-the DAX today was able to comfortably move above the 25,000‑point threshold”. In the process, the ranking of Germany’s most valuable listed companies changed: after reporting its quarterly results, the industrial‑technology group Siemens surpassed software firm SAP and reclaimed the top spot in the German weighted index.
Lipkow added, “Following the afternoon’s pull‑back, the DAX will need to show in the coming days whether today’s move can translate into a sustainable jump above the 25,000‑point psychological barrier. Then new records could enter the realm of possibility”.
The euro slipped a touch against the dollar in the afternoon. One euro was worth 1.1870 USD, while one dollar fetched 0.8425 euro.
Oil prices fell sharply: at about 5 p.m. German time, a barrel of North Sea Brent crude was trading at $68.19, 121 cents-or 1.7 %-below the previous day’s close.
