The DAX saw an increase on Thursday, closing at 25,612 points on the Xetra exchange. This represented a gain of 0.6 percent compared to the previous day’s close. Among the top-performing stocks were Infineon, Siemens Energy, and Symrise, while Adidas, SAP, and Zalando finished at the bottom of the list.
Regarding inflation, the rate, which had risen from an initial July estimate of 2.3 percent to 2.8 percent, remained within expectations. Thomas Gitzel, Chief Economist at VP-Bank, noted that the rise in the inflation rate in July was not unexpected, particularly given the increase in oil prices. He emphasized the importance of the core inflation rate-inflation excluding food and energy-as this metric reflects potential second-round effects. Gitzel highlighted a positive twist, stating, “The core inflation rate dropped from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent. Encouragingly, the price increase in the services sector is decreasing.”
Looking at the outlook for German inflation, the current situation offers some reassurance. However, the economist stressed the need to wait for developments throughout the Eurozone, as data for the entire currency area will be published tomorrow. If the trend of falling price increases outside of energy and food continues across the Eurozone, the European Central Bank (ECB) might pause further interest rate hikes.
In currency news, the Euro strengthened on Thursday afternoon. The Euro traded at 1.1514 US dollars, while the dollar fetched 0.8685 Euros. Meanwhile, oil prices fell. Around 5:00 PM German time, a barrel of North Sea-grade Brent crude cost $90.21, a decrease of 53 cents, or 0.6 percent, from the previous day’s closing price.
