The recently weak Dax stabilized somewhat on Monday. The mark of 14,000 points, which the leading German index just surpassed in the morning thanks to surprisingly good domestic sentiment data, proved to be too high a hurdle at the beginning of the week before Christmas.
In the end, there was an increase of 0.36 percent to 13,942.87 points. The MDax for medium-sized companies ultimately rose by 0.24 percent to 25,023.99 points.
"As the holidays are approaching, sales are likely to continue to decline, but surprises in one direction or the other cannot be ruled out, especially when business is low," said analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from broker CMC Markets. "When no one believes in it anymore and the stock market can catch most investors off guard, unimagined opportunities often develop."
The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 said goodbye on Monday 0.19 percent firmer at 3811.24 points from trading. The national indices in Paris and London also made price gains. The leading US index Dow Jones Industrial, on the other hand, was slightly down at the close of the European market.
The German Ifo business climate improved further in December for the third month in a row after the September low. According to Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, the discrepancy between the assessment of the situation and the business prospects of the companies remains striking. "The mood is still worse than the situation. This is precisely what gives reason to hope that the expected recession will be shorter and milder than originally expected."
Further rate hikes possible
According to the latest statements from the central banks, however, most stock market traders no longer see much scope for sustained price increases. The US Fed and the European Central Bank (ECB) recently did not raise their key interest rates as much as before. At the same time, however, the currency watchdogs made it clear that the phase of interest rate hikes is far from over.
In doing so, they had disappointed many market participants who had expected a more moderate approach in the near future. As a result, the Dax had lost more than three percent in the past week. Now some bargain hunters grabbed it again.
The focus in this country was, among other things, the reorganization of the Dax family. The shares of the sports car manufacturer Porsche AG went full throttle on the first day in the leading index and closed almost three and a half percent higher. The papers of the parent company Volkswagen (VW) were similarly strong: excluding the dividend deduction, the plus was 3.3 percent. With Porsche AG, the Dax has become even more car-heavy: now seven of the 40 index members come from the automotive or commercial vehicle sector.
In contrast, the papers of Deutsche Post lost 3.3 percent. According to stockbrokers, a downgrading of the US bank Citigroup on Friday had an effect here.
Freenet benefits from Deutsche Bank's recommendation
In the MDax, the food delivery service Delivery Hero and the mobile phone provider Freenet took the top spots with price premiums of 5.6 and 5.1 percent respectively - the latter benefited from a new buy recommendation from Deutsche Bank.
Takeover fantasies fueled ProSiebenSat.1 shares with a price increase of almost 3.7 percent. There is once more speculation about the goals of the major shareholder Media for Europe.
In contrast, the shares of tail light Rheinmetall fell by 7.8 percent. The purchase of additional Puma infantry fighting vehicles for the Bundeswehr, which was suspended for the time being, had a negative impact here. In the early stages of trading, the papers of the armaments group and automotive supplier had come under some pressure given the recent series of breakdowns in the tank, which was developed and produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS).
Uniper investors are pleased with the shareholder decision
Uniper was one of the winners in the SDax small-cap index with a plus of four percent. A vast majority of shareholders voted in favor of the stabilization measures agreed with the federal government and the previous Finnish majority shareholder Fortum, with which the ailing energy company will be almost completely nationalized. Since the beginning of the year, however, there has been a drop in value of 93 percent - this means that the shares are at the bottom of the index.
Südzucker led the SDax winners list today with a price premium of seven and a half percent. A buy recommendation from Warburg Research helped here. Analyst Oliver Schwarz expects the trend reversal in the sugar segment to continue.
The recently weak euro rose again and cost 1.0625 US dollars. The ECB had previously set the reference rate at $1.0598.
The prices of German Bunds rose. While the current yield fell to 2.16 percent from 2.18 percent on Friday, the Rex bond index climbed 0.04 percent to 126.98 points. The Bund future fell by 0.41 percent to 137.08 points.
