The DAX finished the week on a positive note, closing at 26,319 points on Xetra. This represented a 0.7 percent increase compared to the previous day’s close. After a strong start, the DAX built upon its gains through the afternoon before holding onto the established level.
Thomas Altmann of QC Partners commented that the U.S. jobs report released on Friday was a significant disappointment. “This is the second month this year where the U.S. economy is adding jobs rather than losing them,” he stated. Even more alarming was the negative revision of the two prior months by 103,000 jobs. “This is the largest negative revision in 12 months. In total, today’s report is weaker than expected by more than 200,000 jobs,” Altmann added. Despite the job losses, the unemployment rate decreased to 4.1 percent. This, he explained, can be attributed to an increasing number of U.S. citizens leaving the labor market.
According to Altmann, the weaker labor market report is now driving expectations of interest rate hikes by the U.S. central bank. “And as a first reaction, this is leading to similarly rising prices in both the stock and bond markets,” he noted. The slower growth in wages is also easing some pressure on the Federal Reserve.
Towards the market close, SAP, Scout 24, and Infineon topped the list of market movers in Frankfurt. On the other hand, Zalando and Daimler Truck finished at the bottom of the list.
In separate news, gas prices fell. A Megawatt-hour (MWh) of gas delivered in September cost 55 euros at the end of the day, a decrease of one percent from the previous day. If this price level remains stable, it suggests a consumer price of at least around ten to twelve cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), including auxiliary costs and taxes.
Oil prices, however, rose considerably. A barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea was trading at $83.54 in the late afternoon on Friday, which was 1.3 percent more than the close of the previous trading day.
Finally, the European currency strengthened during the Friday afternoon trading session. The euro cost $1.1561, meaning the dollar was trading for 0.8650 euros.
