Minor profit-taking slowed the rally on the German stock market on Wednesday. Shortly after the start of trading, the leading German index, the Dax, lost a moderate 0.16 percent to 14,355.00 points. The MDax also fell a little by 0.12 percent to 26,149.26 points. At the European level, the leading euro zone index, the EuroStoxx 50, was almost flat with minus 0.02 percent at 3914.38 points.

The stock exchanges in Europe are thus tending to follow Wall Street in the USA, where investors had also taken profits the day before and thus dampened the upward trend somewhat.

Concerns about a new escalation between NATO and Russia after a rocket hit Poland had initially caused more excitement before the official start of the stock market in this country, but the financial markets then reacted calmly at first. There are now indications that the projectile is an anti-aircraft missile from Ukraine and not from Russia, as first feared.

Nevertheless, the air for the leading German index is getting thinner at the highest level since the beginning of June. Starting from its low for the year at the end of September, it has meanwhile gained more than a fifth.