The DAX began trading Monday morning with gains. At around 9:30 AM, the leading index was calculated at approximately 25,485 points, marking a 0.7 percent increase over Friday’s closing level. Infineon, Siemens, and MTU led the stock count, while Volkswagen, Adidas, and Brenntag were among those that ended the session.
The recent drops in oil prices and developments in global politics have influenced the markets. According to Thomas Altmann of QC Partners, the decline in oil prices is helping fuel positive sentiment. He noted that both the US and Iran appear willing to engage in dialogue, offering a degree of renewed hope for peace. This falling oil price triggers a known chain reaction in the stock markets: expectations of inflation and interest rates are falling, which typically drives up stock prices. However, Altmann cautioned that it is currently too early to judge whether the hope for peace and the lower oil costs will last. Nevertheless, the markets are reacting positively to the current momentum.
Furthermore, investors reacted to the results of the state elections held over the weekend, which proved catastrophic for the governing CDU. While Altmann states that the influence of state-level elections on stock prices and interest rates in Germany is traditionally limited, he acknowledged that international interest was particularly high this time. He added that if the results of the state elections genuinely have national political implications, they could likely affect both stock prices and interest rates.
In other economic movements, the European common currency weakened slightly during Monday morning trading. The Euro was trading at 1.1476 US dollars, meaning the dollar was available for 0.8714 euros. Meanwhile, the oil price declined; a barrel of the Brent crude variety was priced at $101.80 around 9 AM German time, representing a fall of 203 cents, or 2.0 percent, compared to the previous day’s close.
