The DAX was still in negative territory on Friday after a modest outset that had slipped into a downtrend by midday. At about 12:30 p.m. German time the benchmark was calculated at roughly 24,796 points, a rise of 0.2 % above the previous day’s close. MTU, Deutsche Börse and Merck anchored the top end of the index, while RWE, Brenntag and Siemens were at the bottom of the list.
Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, noted that the “today’s reluctance to buy has already surfaced at the opening of the DAX”. Investors are opting to sit on the sidelines before the weekend, partly because fears of potential sharp disruptions in the software, finance and logistics sectors still loom over financial markets.
Lipkow explained that disruptive artificial‑intelligence initiatives have recently pressured software shares and, in addition, many bank, finance and logistics stocks. “Investors prefer to sell first, then ask whether the sector will be affected and how intense those changes could really be” he said. “Volatility has returned to the markets-gold was hit again yesterday, and stocks are now moving through wider trading ranges. This fuels the drift toward bonds and safe‑haven assets and puts further selling pressure on equities”.
The euro was marginally weaker on Friday afternoon, trading at US $1 = €0.8434 (US $1.1857 = €1). Meanwhile, oil prices ticked higher: a barrel of Brent crude fetched about US $67.66 at around noon German time, an increase of 14 cents or 0.2 % from the previous closing level.
