The DAX continued its positive trajectory on Friday, climbing past its strong start into the morning. By approximately 12:30 PM, the index stood at around 25,535 points, which represented a 0.7 percent gain compared to the previous day’s closing level.
Among the market leaders were Siemens Energy, Siemens, and Munich Re. However, other companies reported losses, including BASF, SAP, and Brenntag.
Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, highlighted that energy prices remain the central focus of financial markets. He noted that supply chain disruptions in Saudi Arabia, specifically due to attacks by the Houthi rebels, have made oil prices more expensive in recent days. This situation, combined with inflation concerns and investor apprehension regarding a stagflationary scenario in Europe and the United States, has created significant uncertainty.
Lipkow cautioned that central banks find themselves in a difficult position, needing to proceed with extreme care. They must decide whether to fight price increases through strict monetary tightening, thereby risking a slowdown in economic growth, or maintain an easy interest rate policy to promote economic expansion, accepting the risk of further price rises.
This lack of a simple solution is evident in the bond markets, which are reacting with rising yields and falling bond prices. Lipkow emphasized the critical importance of the US consumer price data, scheduled for 2:30 PM, as it is expected to inject fresh dynamism into trading ahead of the weekend.
In currency markets, the Euro weakened slightly on Friday afternoon. One Euro exchanged for 1.1592 US Dollars, while the Dollar was available for 0.8627 Euros.
On the commodity front, the price of gold benefited, posting a gain of 0.7 percent by the afternoon trading session, reaching $4,349 for a fine troy ounce, which translates to 120.62 Euros per gram. In contrast, the price of oil dropped sharply. The price of Brent crude from the North Sea fell to $103.70 per barrel near 12 PM German time, marking a decrease of 389 cents, or 3.6 percent, from the previous day’s closing price.
