After five days of winning in a row, the Dax has given way slightly. The leading index closed 0.11 percent lower at 15,789.53 points after temporarily overcoming the 15,900 point hurdle and rising to its highest level since January 2022.
Investors remained optimistic after the recent stock market rally, although moderate profit-taking began. US economic data also caused some uncertainty. The MDax of medium-sized stock market stocks went 0.18 percent higher at 27,837.59 points from trading.
The mood in industry in the economically important US state of New York brightened unexpectedly in April, which increased concerns about interest rates on the stock exchanges a little. In addition to monetary policy, the reporting season for companies is increasingly coming into focus. On Friday, the first quarterly balance sheets of large US banks provided a good start.
At the start of the week, bank shares suffered a setback after their recent recovery rally. Commerzbank brought up the rear in the Dax with a discount of 3.5 percent, while Deutsche Bank shares fell by 2.2 percent. The US institute State Street put a damper on performance, disappointing with its net inflows in the first quarter. Shares from reinsurers such as Munich Re and Hannover Re were among the biggest losers in the leading index, each losing around 2.6 percent.
In contrast, cyclicals such as the engine manufacturer MTU with a plus of 2.5 percent and the aircraft manufacturer Airbus with a share price gain of 1.5 percent were in the lead. Traffic figures from the airport operator Fraport also ensured a good mood in the aviation sector. Despite a one-day strike, passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport increased significantly in March. The Fraport shares rose by two percent in the MDax. Shortly after the stock exchange closed, MTU surprisingly presented figures for the first quarter, which exceeded market expectations.
At the top of the MDax are the Teamviewer papers, which rose by five percent. A buy recommendation from the private bank Berenberg gave fresh impetus to the software company's share price recovery, which has been faltering since mid-February. Analyst Gustav Froberg sees a trend reversal after difficult years. Many investors are still overlooking the recovery in mid- and small-cap business because they are too fixated on past problems, he said.
Stocks of chip suppliers came under pressure across Europe. Concerns about investment restrictions in the industry weighed on after the Taiwanese business newspaper "Economic Daily News" reported, citing informed people, that the world's largest chip manufacturer TSMC wanted to scale back its investments planned for 2023. Aixtron's shares fell by 2.1 percent as one of the biggest losers in the MDax.
Traton rose by 6.6 percent in the SDax. After a good start to the year, VW Commercial Vehicle Holding is considering raising its forecast for the year. The shares of the IT service provider Nagarro also continued their recovery from Friday with an increase of 6.6 percent and benefited above all from the announcement of a share buyback when presenting detailed annual figures for 2022.
After the stock market closed, the biofuel manufacturer Cropenergies shocked its shareholders with a gloomy forecast: Due to the significant drop in ethanol prices, the Südzucker subsidiary expects a decline in sales and operating profit in the current 2023/24 financial year. The medical technology group Drägerwerk reported after the trading day on a strong start to the new year.
The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index in the euro zone, closed 0.53 percent lower at 4367.61 points. France's Cac 40 fell 0.3 percent, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged up marginally. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial was barely moving at the European close.
The euro fell significantly at the beginning of the week and was last listed at 1.0912 US dollars. The European Central Bank set the reference rate at 1.0981 (Friday: 1.1057) dollars. The dollar thus cost 0.9107 (0.9044) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield rose from 2.41 percent on Friday to 2.46 percent. The Rex pension index fell by 0.19 percent to 125.57 points. The Bund future lost 0.36 percent to 133.89 points.
