The DAX opened on Wednesday morning with losses. At 9:30 a.m. it was trading around 23,675 points, which was 1.2 percent below the previous day’s closing level. The top of the index was occupied by Brenntag, Merck and FMC, while the bottom included Henkel, Rheinmetall and SAP.
Thomas Altmann of QC Partners noted that the news environment remains volatile and is likely to stay that way for some time. He said investors remain focused on developments in the Strait of Hormuz. “Over the past seven days only one ship has passed the Strait in each direction” he said, adding that newly produced oil continues to be scarce.
At the same time, the prospect of releasing strategic oil reserves is calming markets, according to Altmann. Many investors have taken a “wait and see” approach. He pointed out that yesterday’s trading session was the lowest‑volume day the DAX has seen this year, underscoring the current fear of a mistaken repositioning.
Later in the day, the U.S. February inflation data will be released. Analysts expect the year‑on‑year rate to remain at 2.4 percent. Energy costs, which have risen because of the Iran conflict, are not yet reflected in the expected figures.
The euro was slightly stronger in the morning: one euro was worth 1.1616 USD, implying one dollar could be exchanged for 0.8609 EUR.
Oil prices surged again earlier. Branded Brunei North Sea Brent oil was trading at about $89.64 per barrel at 9 a.m. German time, up 2.1 percent from the previous day’s close.
