The German stock index, the Dax, opened to gains on Thursday morning. At roughly 9:30 am the benchmark had risen to about 25,081 points, up 0.9 % from the previous day’s closing level.
On the top of the performers list were Siemens, Commerzbank, Deutsche Telekom and Continental, while the lowest‑rising stocks were Symrise and Mercedes‑Benz. The car manufacturer reported a sizable drop in profit for the last fiscal year and announced a reduction in its dividend.
“Investors remain confrontated with a wide variety of opposing impulses” commented Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. He pointed out that the U.S. employment figures released on Wednesday require detailed scrutiny to form a coherent picture of the American economy. “Although the job‑market data were clearly above expectations, revisions have repeatedly altered the narrative in the recent past. Given this, the early‑month claims for unemployment benefits should receive more attention today”.
Lipkow said that Europe appears to be stabilising at a low level of economic activity, reflected in many quarterly reports-including yesterday’s figures from Siemens Energy and Commerzbank, and today’s numbers from Siemens. Nevertheless, the region remains heavily dependent on China and the United States, and the European Union’s defence spending is a significant additional driver of this economic stabilisation.
The euro was a touch stronger on Thursday morning: one euro bought 1.1880 U.S. dollars, and one U.S. dollar fetched 0.8418 euros.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed. At about 9 am German time a barrel of West Virginia‑grade Brent fetched $69.65, which is 25 cents-or 0.4 %-above its close on the previous trading day.
