The DAX rose on Friday afternoon, having started the trading day with some hesitation. Around 9:30 AM, the benchmark index was valued at roughly 23,975 points, which was a 0.7 percent increase from the previous day’s closing level.
Shares in Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, and Infineon notably gained during the session. In contrast, stocks from the defense conglomerate Rheinmetall dropped, especially following the slight easing of tensions concerning the war in Iran.
According to Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, investors remain in an uncertain position. He noted that on one hand, the situation in the Middle East continues to be unclear, while on the other, certain company stocks are trading at particularly appealing price levels.
Lipkow also observed that overall market trading volume has been decreasing over the past few days, suggesting a cautious stance among investors. Previously, market sentiment had been clouded by the Iran conflict and the resulting sharp rise in energy prices.
He added that before this conflict, there had been evidence of a noticeable bottoming pattern in the German economy, hinting at a potential trend reversal. However, this economic momentum now faces doubt because the full impact of the recent events on inflation and consumer spending is not yet clear. Early answers to this might come from macroeconomic data expected from the US this afternoon.
In currency markets, the European common currency strengthened slightly on Friday afternoon; the Euro was priced at $1.1709, meaning the dollar cost 0.8540 Euros.
Gold prices weakened, with a fine ounce trading at $4,753 in the afternoon, representing a decrease of 0.2 percent. This equates to a price of 130.50 Euros per gram.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose. A barrel of Brent crude oil from the North Sea cost $96.84 on Friday afternoon around 12:00 Central European Time, reflecting a gain of 92 cents, or 1.0 percent, compared to the previous day’s close.
