Investors on the German stock market gave up their recent reluctance to some extent thanks to the good indications from overseas stock exchanges on Thursday. However, this applies more to the second and third stock exchange leagues, because the Dax rose in early business by only 0.24 percent to 15,118.49 points. The fact that the leading German index is lagging behind is probably largely due to significant losses in the heavily weighted SAP share.
The MDax for medium-sized companies rose by 1.12 percent to 28,747.45 points. The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index for the eurozone, gained around 0.6 percent.
The companies' reporting season provided light and shade with figures from Sartorius and SAP. Clearly positive signals came from the USA: With a strong end of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial had made it slightly into the black the previous evening. The technology stocks on the Nasdaq at least largely made up for significant losses. The Tesla papers climbed by almost 6 percent after the business hours according to the electric car manufacturer.
The shares of SAP fell by 3.1 percent as the taillight in the Dax. The software manufacturer has set cautious financial targets for 2023 and its sales outlook is at the lower end of analyst expectations. With the announced reduction of 3000 jobs, the Walldorfer want to reduce the annual costs by 350 million euros. In addition, the board is considering selling the US subsidiary Qualtrics. SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion in 2018, and the company is currently valued at $6.6 billion on the stock exchange.
Sartorius shares rose in price by 5.2 percent, making them the clear Dax leader. In early trade they were up to their highest levels since mid-September. After another strong year with significant growth in sales and earnings, the pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier is preparing for a significantly slower pace in 2023. Analyst Odysseas Manesiotis from Berenberg Bank wrote in a first reaction of "decent" numbers.
With a price premium of 5.8 percent, the Evotec stocks were the frontrunners in the MDax. The drug researcher goes with the pharmaceutical company Johnson
The real estate group Dic Asset achieved its earnings targets last year. However, the operating profit, measured against the Funds from Operations (FFO) indicator established in the real estate industry, was only at the lower end of the published range. However, DIC Asset wants to pay its shareholders a dividend at the level of the previous year. For 2023, the company expects a decline in earnings. The share certificates rose by 2.1 percent.
