The DAX began Thursday morning with gains, opening at about 25,081 points-0.9 % above the previous close-around 9:30 a.m. Siemens, Commerzbank, Deutsche Telekom, and Continental led the gains, while Symrise and Mercedes Benz were at the bottom of the list. The carmaker reported a sharp drop in profits for the past fiscal year and announced that the dividend will be cut.
“Investors continue to face an abundance of opposing signals” said Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. He added that the U.S. labor market data released on Wednesday requires a deep dive into the details to form a coherent picture of the American economy. “The data were well above expectations, but recent revisions have changed the picture entirely. Given that, the newly filed unemployment claims due to come today may become more significant”.
The analyst noted a stabilization at a low economic level across Europe. “This is reflected in many figures, such as yesterday’s results from Siemens Energy and Commerzbank, and today’s already released numbers from Siemens. Yet the economies of China and the United States remain essential drivers. In addition, EU defence spending is a significant extra factor supporting economic stability”.
At the time, the euro was slightly stronger: one euro traded at $1.1880, while one dollar was worth €0.8418.
Oil prices rose as well; a barrel of North Sea Brent was $69.65 at around 9 a.m. German time-25 cents, or 0.4 %, higher than the closing price the previous day.
