The DAX moved into the green zone on Thursday after a very muted start to the trading day. At about 12:30 p.m. German time the index was calculated at roughly 25,265 points, which is 0.4 % above the prior day’s closing level. The best‑performing stocks that day were Infineon, BASF and FMC, while Heidelberg Materials, Scout24 and MTU finished lowest on the list.
“Sentiment at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange remains cautiously optimistic” said Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. “Investors stay in the DAX and hope for a continuation of the country’s economic upswing”. He added that sector rotation has been underpinning the market and has helped hold the price level between 25,000 and 25,200 points for several weeks.
Lipkow cautioned, however, that traders should remain vigilant because trading volume has been falling for several days. “The current consolidation phase is on shaky ground” he said, but noted that opportunities could arise if buyers return and increase trading volume, drawing the indices higher.
The euro weakened slightly by midday: one euro bought 1.1803 USD, while one US dollar cost 0.8472 EUR.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell sharply. At 12:00 p.m. German time a barrel of Brent crude was priced at 69.94 USD, 91 cents (1.3 %) lower than the previous day’s close.
