The DAX started its trading day on Friday in positive territory. Around 9:40 AM, the leading index was calculated at approximately 24,960 points, which was 0.6 percent higher than yesterday’s closing level.
According to Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, investors are cautiously hopeful that conditions in the energy and bond markets might stabilize. Brent crude is holding around $106, while government bond yields appear to have reached a temporary peak. However, he noted that genuine relaxation is still far from being achievable.
Meanwhile, profit-taking continued across Wall Street and in Asian markets. Skepticism is particularly growing within the technology sector. The “AI story” is showing signs of cracks following OpenAI’s reduction of revenue forecasts. This renewed focus brings a crucial question back into sharp relief, one that had been sidelined during the rally: When will the massive billions invested in data centers and AI infrastructure actually start yielding results?
Lipkow highlighted that investors are increasingly beginning to differentiate between the technological potential of artificial intelligence and its real-world economic profitability. He suggested that while the AI boom itself might not be over, the era of seemingly limitless upside could be drawing to a close, noting that this raises the potential for disappointment, especially among highly valued chip makers and hyper-scalers.
Fresh impulses for the market today could come from the quarterly results of Delta Air Lines and the US consumer sentiment figures released by the University of Michigan. Nonetheless, energy prices and bond yields remain critical factors. Lipkow concluded that while stabilization is necessary to limit selling pressure, it is not enough on its own to spark a new stock rally. Technically, the DAX is expected to trade within a range of 24,900 and 25,200 by the week’s end.
In other economic news, the European common currency was slightly stronger on Friday morning, with the euro trading at 1.1231 US dollars, and the dollar exchanging for 0.8904 euros. Gold prices benefited significantly, rising by 1.6 percent in the morning, with a fine ounce trading for $4,195, equivalent to €120.09 per gram. Conversely, oil prices dropped; the North Sea Brent barrel was quoted at $103.30 against German time at 9 AM, marking a decrease of 0.9 percent or 97 cents from the previous day’s close.
