The German stock market benchmark, the DAX, experienced a slight decline to close the trading week. At the close of Xetra trading, the index registered at 24,218 points, a decrease of 0.3 percent compared to the previous day’s closing value. Despite a sluggish start, the DAX managed to recover a significant portion of its initial losses throughout the trading day.
Ongoing trade tensions between the United States and the European Union continue to weigh on investor sentiment. The deadline set by US President Donald Trump, scheduled for August 1st, is approaching. While Trump has recently suggested a potential for a swift resolution, no definitive agreement has been reached.
Volkswagen shares led the gains among Frankfurt-listed stocks for much of the day, while MTU, Deutsche Bank and Vonovia shares underperformed, marking the bottom of the list.
Gas prices saw an increase during the day; a megawatt-hour (MWh) for delivery in August cost 33 euros, representing a 1 percent increase from the previous day’s value. This suggests a potential consumer price of approximately eight to ten cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) including ancillary costs and taxes, if this price level holds steady.
Conversely, oil prices decreased. A barrel of Brent crude, as of Friday afternoon around 5:00 PM local time, was trading at $68.78, a decrease of 40 cents or 0.6 percent compared to the close of the previous trading day.
The European currency, the euro, was slightly weaker during Friday afternoon trading; one euro was valued at $1.1739, with a dollar fetching $0.8519.
