Before the upcoming interest rate decisions by large central banks, the Dax has increased somewhat. The leading German index reached the level of mid-January and gained 0.47 percent to 15,199.78 points by the early afternoon. Overall, however, trade remained characterized by restraint.
The MDax of medium-sized companies rose by 0.48 percent to 28,951.45 points in the middle of the week. The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index in the euro zone, rose to a similar extent.
The US Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision on the evening after Xetra trading ended, followed by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday. There are signs of further interest rate hikes given persistently high inflation and a strong labor market in the USA.
The US Federal Reserve is likely to slow down the rate hikes again. However, despite the first declines, inflation rates are still far too high, wrote the experts at Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen. After the expected increase in the key interest rate range by 0.25 percentage points, the Fed will therefore avoid predetermining the end of the interest rate cycle or even cutting interest rates in the near future.
At the end of the Dax, Hannover Re shares lost 3.6 percent and thus suffered from a cautious outlook. The goal of an annual surplus of at least 1.7 billion euros could be disappointing, wrote analyst Thorsten Wenzel from DZ Bank. The reason for the reluctance is probably the intention to replenish the technical provisions after several years of high major loss expenditure.
The news from Hanover also weighed on the European insurance sector as a whole. Munich Re's shares fell by around one percent and Talanx by two and a half percent.
The shares of two software providers came under even more pressure. Software AG's shares at the end of the MDax fell by more than 14 percent. The company did well at the end of the year and was able to meet its own targets - but the profits targeted for the new year fell short of the expectations of experts.
Teamviewer's shares lost almost seven percent after a skeptical analyst comment. Rising investment threatened to erode profitability, wrote JPMorgan expert Toby Ogg. Market expectations for the current year are too optimistic.
However, the shares of Atoss Software provided a ray of hope, rising by a good four percent at the top of the SDax small-cap index and thus benefiting from analyst praise. The company is successful in terms of incoming orders with consistency, wrote the expert Felix Ellmman from Warburg Research. A very high proportion of recurring sales is also positive.
The euro benefited from weak US labor market data and was last listed at 1.0905 US dollars. The US private sector created far fewer jobs than expected in January. The European Central Bank set the reference rate at 1.0833 (Monday: 1.0903) on Tuesday. The dollar thus cost 0.9231 (0.9171) euros.
On the bond market, the current yield fell from 2.28 percent on the previous day to 2.26 percent. The Rex pension index fell by 0.02 percent to 125.94 points. The Bund future was 0.01 percent higher at 137.02 points.
