The DAX index failed to find a clear direction during the trading week on Monday morning. By 12:30 PM, the main index was recorded at approximately 25,385 points, marking a slight decline of 0.1% from Friday’s closing level.
Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, noted that two critical foundations supporting the recent stock rally were now showing signs of weakness. First, skepticism is growing around the hyperscaler Oracle and the massive financing required for AI data centers. Second, OpenAI’s training pause is forcing investors to fundamentally re-evaluate their previous assumptions regarding growth and profitability within the AI sector.
This shift signals the end of the euphoric investment phase for many months. The central question is no longer how much money is being poured into AI, but rather when and to what extent this capital will generate corresponding returns.
Lipkow stated that this situation makes the overall market more fragile and could lead to significantly higher volatility in the coming trading days. Compounding the risk, high energy prices continue to act as a major drag on the stock market. If these costs do not fall substantially soon, the ramifications could extend far beyond the next round of inflation data, potentially burdening businesses and consumers over several quarters through weaker consumption and further interest rate hikes.
The fiscal outlook for nations is also becoming increasingly difficult. Should yields remain high, the costs associated with refinancing high levels of national debt will rise, thereby restricting governments’ financial flexibility. According to Lipkow, what might start as a short-term energy price shock could increasingly become a long-term burden on consumers, corporations, and national budgets.
In other market movements, European currency weakened on Monday afternoon. The Euro cost 1.1371 US dollars, while the dollar was trading at 0.8794 Euros.
The gold price experienced a sharp downturn; by the afternoon, it was trading at $4,157 per fine ounce, a 3% drop, equating to €117.52 per gram. In contrast, crude oil showed strong gains. The Brent North Sea barrel cost $108.50 on Monday afternoon around noon Central European Time, a 4% increase from the previous day’s close.
