The DAX opened Monday with a decline. By about 9:30 a.m. the German benchmark index stood at roughly 24,440 points, 0.4 % below Friday’s closing level. At the top of the price list were Deutsche Telekom, Hannover Re and Munich Re, while Siemens Energy, Infineon and Deutsche Bank were at the bottom.
“The path of least resistance seems to be leading the DAX downward” said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at Consorsbank. “Trump’s unexpected nomination of a potentially conservative chair for the Federal Reserve caught investors off‑guard. It had been expected that President Trump would do everything to install a Powell successor who favours rapid rate cuts. Now investors seem unable to exit risk positions quickly enough; even precious metals no longer provide a hedge. The mantra is: “Cash Is King”.
The euro was a touch firmer early on Monday: one euro traded at US$1.1863, yielding €0.8430 for one US dollar.
Oil fell sharply: Brent crude – a North Sea grade – was priced at US$66.07 per barrel around 9 a.m. German time, a decline of $3.25 or 4.7 % from the previous day’s close.
