The German benchmark index, Dax, saw a modest gain as the week concluded. At the close of trading on Xetra, the index was recorded at 25,629 points, reflecting an increase of 0.1% compared to the previous day’s closing level. Infineon, Siemens Energy, and RWE topped the performance list, while Symrise, Scout24, and Heidelberg Materials finished at the bottom.
During the day, the domestic index briefly approached an all-time high-nearing the record of 25,900 points-though it ultimately reversed course. Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, attributed this reversal to a lack of market breadth, which caused momentum to fade and led to profit-taking after a strong trading week. Furthermore, the mood was dampened by rising oil prices. Concerns over inflation were triggered by Brent crude rising above the $90 mark.
Lipkow noted that in the current week, investors largely remained unaffected by ongoing geopolitical developments in the Middle East and instead focused on corporate earnings season. The positive trend seen in European stock markets was supported by a strong counter-movement among semiconductor companies. He added that this positive trend was robust enough to counteract weak purchasing managers’ indices coming out of China.
On Friday afternoon, the Euro weakened against the US Dollar, trading at $1.1501 per Euro, meaning the dollar was available for 0.8695 Euros. Meanwhile, crude oil prices increased, with a barrel of Brent from the North Sea trading at $90.08 around 5 p.m. German time-a 1.2% rise from the previous trading day’s close.
