On the last trading day before Christmas, calm returned to the German stock market. In the last hour of trading on Friday, the Dax picked up speed again and closed 0.19 percent higher at 13,940.93 points. Inflation data from the USA had previously caused swings in both directions. The balance of a volatile week around the mark of 14,000 points is slightly positive.
The MDax started the long Christmas weekend on Friday with a gain of 0.57 percent to 25,248.11 points.
Many stock market traders have recently stopped wanting to talk about a year-end rally. "Bye-bye, Christmas rally," wrote Oanda analyst Edward Moya, for example. The economic data from the USA, especially the rock-solid job market, is too good for hopes of a more moderate approach by the US Federal Reserve in terms of interest rate hikes to germinate and give the stock exchanges another boost. In Europe, too, capital market interest rates have risen sharply in recent weeks and have slowed stocks.
On the corporate side, bargain hunters snagged this year's big loser stocks. The dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care (FMC), the automotive supplier and tire manufacturer Continental and the laboratory supplier Sartorius were in particularly high demand with premiums of up to a good two percent.
The papers of the online fashion retailer Zalando gained 2.1 percent. However, the price has lost more than half this year, more than any other share in the Dax. The slump in consumption has left deep scars on the company.
At the end of the index, RWE shares lost one percent. Investors took some profits here. The paper is one of the top three of the year in the Dax with a good 16 percent premium.
The shares of TAG Immobilien, which were also badly hit this year, benefited from a positive analyst study - they increased by 3.1 percent. Despite the fact that interest rates will continue to rise for some time, Berenberg analyst Kai Klose expects the real estate group to remain dynamic. He also stuck to his buy recommendation because of the high price losses of almost 75 percent since the turn of the year.
Uniper shares slipped by almost 19 percent on their last day of trading in the SDax and reached a record low. The supplier, which has meanwhile been nationalized, will be replaced by the fuel cell manufacturer SFC Energy in the index of smaller stocks after Christmas. Its course rose by 6.5 percent.
Across Europe, the stock exchanges more or less stood still. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 closed 0.16 percent lower at 3817.01 points. France's Cac 40 was also moderately down, while London's FTSE 100 closed little changed. The leading US index, the Dow Jones Industrial, was up a quarter percent at the end of trading in Europe.
As in the past few days, the euro fluctuated around 1.06 US dollars. In the evening, the common currency was quoted at $ 1.0623. The European Central Bank had previously set the reference rate at $1.0622.
The losses on the bond market widened, the Rex bond index fell by 0.28 percent to 126.15 points. In return, the current yield rose to 2.36 percent from 2.30 percent the previous day. The Bund future lost 0.32 percent in the evening to 134.94 points and reached its lowest level since the beginning of November.
