The German stock market benchmark, the DAX, opened Tuesday’s trading session with losses. Around 9:30 am, the index was calculated at approximately 24,205 points, representing a decrease of 0.4 percent from the previous day’s closing level. FMC, Daimler Truck and Fresenius led the gains, while Sartorius, Infineon and Merck experienced the largest declines.
According to Jochen Stanzl, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, a sense of summer stagnation pervades the Frankfurt stock exchange. “As the earnings season begins and trade uncertainties force investors to adopt a wait-and-see approach, there’s as much of a summer slowdown as possible” he noted. He added that market volatility has subsided, although awareness remains high concerning escalating risks related to trade disputes with the United States. Market participants are positioned and prepared to act if necessary.
Stanzl suggested that many investors have implemented stop-loss orders to protect their positions, potentially triggering automatic sales below 24,150 points and subsequently below 23,900 points. He anticipates that the release of quarterly results, such as those expected from DAX heavyweight SAP later Tuesday, will reveal the willingness of others to act as value investors, capitalizing on potentially lower prices.
The Euro weakened slightly against the US Dollar, trading at $1.1687, meaning one US Dollar was worth €0.8557.
Meanwhile, oil prices decreased. Brent crude, a benchmark for North Sea crude, was trading at $68.78 per barrel around 9:00 am German time, a decline of 43 cents or 0.6 percent compared to the previous trading day’s closing price.
