Weak guidelines from overseas brought significant losses to the German stock market on Monday. The stock exchanges in China and Hong Kong fell significantly in the face of popular protests against the strict measures of the zero-Covid policy of the political leadership. In addition, there are also signs of a restrained start to trading in the USA.

After a weak start, the Dax widened its minus and lost 0.85 percent to 14,417.89 points around midday. In the past eight weeks, however, the leading index has increased by up to almost 23 percent. The MDax for medium-sized stocks fell by 1.30 percent to 25,634.22 points on Monday. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 recently lost 0.68 percent to 3935.43 points.

The trigger for public displeasure in several Chinese metropolises was the fire in an apartment in the city of Ürümqi in the north-west of the country, which killed at least ten people. Many are of the opinion that the rescue work was hampered by the strict corona measures. Scores of people have already been arrested during the largest wave of protests in decades. The current Covid outbreaks are fueling fears among investors of a prolonged economic dry spell in the world's second largest economy.

On the German stock market, the shares of the chemicals trader Brenntag were in focus. They suffered from management takeover talks with US rival Univar Solutions and lost more than seven and a half percent as the Dax bottom.

At the top of the Dax, Fresenius shares rose by 1.8 percent after a new buy recommendation from UBS.

Outside of the major German indices, shares in the Adler Group jumped 56 percent. They benefited from the news that the struggling real estate group had reached an agreement with a core group of creditors to adjust the terms of the bonds issued by Adler.