The Dax continued to decline on Wednesday, dropping further into negative territory by midday after a weak start to the trading day. Around 12:30 PM, the leading index was calculated at approximately 25,130 points, which represents a 1.3 percent decrease compared to the previous day’s closing level.
Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, and Deutsche Bank were at the bottom of the price list. In contrast, stocks such as Zalando, Scout24, and Volkswagen showed some resistance to the downward trend.
Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, noted that investors are generally cautious on Wednesday, trying to assess the consequences that high government bond yields and persistently high energy prices will have on corporations. He added that a growing dispute between the EU and China appears to be emerging, which could impact European car stocks. The EU plans to provisionally limit the import of Chinese hybrid vehicles. This could provoke a counter-reaction from the Chinese government, affecting the European automotive sector.
Lipkow further commented that market participants are adopting a relatively calm stance, awaiting reactions. He highlighted that European car stocks are already under scrutiny following the Porsche investor day and are subject to significant price fluctuations. He suggested that in the current lackluster trading environment, such influences could trigger greater volatility.
In currency markets, the European common currency weakened on Wednesday afternoon. One euro was exchanged for 1.1193 US dollars, while one dollar cost 0.8934 euros.
Gold prices fell noticeably; by the afternoon, a troy ounce was priced at $4,116 (-1.2 percent), corresponding to a price of 118.21 euros per gram. Meanwhile, the price of oil rose significantly. A barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea was trading at $101.90 around 12 PM Central European Time, marking a 1.3 percent increase from the previous day’s close.
