30 a..m., 0.9 % above yesterday’s close. Siemens, Commerzbank, Deutsche Telekom and Continental led the gains, while Symrise and Mercedes‑Benz were at the bottom of the list. Mercedes‑Benz disclosed a sharp decline in profit for the past fiscal year, leading to a dividend cut.
Investors face a mix of contradictory signals, commented Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. The U.S. labour‑market data released Wednesday, while initially surpassing expectations, has been subject to frequent revisions that change the overall picture. Accordingly, the upcoming first‑time unemployment‑benefit applications are likely to gain importance today.
Lipkow said Europe is seeing a low‑level economic stabilisation, evident in the latest quarterly numbers from Siemens Energy and Commerzbank, as well as the figures already filed by Siemens today. Nonetheless, the economy remains heavily dependent on China and the United States, and EU defence spending is an important additional driver of this stability.
The euro was slightly stronger Thursday morning, trading at €1 = US$1.1880 (US$1 = €0.8418). Meanwhile, Brent crude rose to $69.65 per barrel at around 9 a.m. German time – 25 cents, or 0.4 %, above yesterday’s closing price.
