The DAX finished Wednesday slightly lower, settling at 26,331 points by the close of Xetra trading-a decrease of 0.2 percent compared to the previous day’s closing figure.
Andreas Lipkow, lead market analyst at CMC Markets, commented that while some investors in Frankfurt had previously capitalized on US inflation data to reach a new high of 26,574 points, these same traders took some larger profits. This profit-taking led to the DAX returning to yesterday’s level. Although this prevented a record finish for the day, Lipkow noted that a noticeable buying momentum remains across European exchanges, focusing particularly on technology and defense stocks.
Specific companies that held their ground even during the afternoon slide included established names such as Siemens Energy, Rheinmetall, and Siemens. Rhinemetall benefited particularly from recent earnings reports, while Infineon, Siemens Energy, and Siemens gained from positive trading trends in the tech sector originating from both the US and Asia.
However, the analyst cautioned that the rally in the DAX is being driven by only a handful of stocks. Even at the new all-time high, fewer than half of the 40 companies recorded gains. Furthermore, declining trading volume continues to temper expectations, suggesting that the current rally may lack a solid foundation for long-term sustainability.
Despite these concerns, overall market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic. Lipkow added that investors are not being deterred by the rising energy prices, concluding that nothing appears capable of stopping the bulls in recent days.
In other market movements, the euro weakened slightly on Wednesday afternoon against the US dollar, trading at $1.1540 per euro, while the dollar was priced at 0.8666 euros. Gold, meanwhile, saw a significant increase, reaching $4,419 per fine ounce by the afternoon, representing a 1.2 percent rise, equivalent to 123.12 euros per gram. Crude oil prices saw a slight decline; a barrel of Brent North Sea grade oil cost $88.88 against the clock around 5 p.m. German time, which was 3 cents, or 0.0 percent, less than the previous trading day’s close.
