The DAX began Monday trading with slight losses. At approximately 9:30 a.m., the benchmark index was recorded at around 25,520 points, marking a 0.2 percent decline from the previous day’s closing level. The leading stocks in the index included SAP, Bayer, and Rheinmetall, while Infineon, Hochtief, and Siemens Energy were positioned at the bottom of the list.
Jochen Stanzl, Chief Market Analyst at Consorsbank, stated that those who entered the weekend hoping for a relaxation of energy prices were disappointed at the start of the week. He noted that the closure of the Saudi East-West pipeline is fueling new concerns over the world’s oil supply from the Middle East, especially as the question of free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved. Stanzl stressed that two pieces of bad news arrived simultaneously: the pipeline closure and considerations within the AI industry regarding voluntarily slowing down their own development. He concluded that there was currently no impetus for stocks at the beginning of the week.
Furthermore, Stanzl commented that, in the eyes of the markets, the window for rhetorical maneuvering to postpone another interest rate hike is now virtually closed, even in the United States. Investors were pricing in a 90 percent probability of a rate increase by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday. According to Stanzl, the direction of market prices would be determined less by the rate decision itself and more by the Fed’s outlook on future steps.
On a separate note, the European common currency was weaker in the morning: the Euro cost $1.1557, meaning the Dollar was trading for 0.8653 Euros.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose significantly. At around 9 a.m. German time, a barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea was priced at $107.50, representing a 2.8 percent increase from the previous day’s close.
