Dusseldorf. The Dax fell below an important mark on Thursday. The price board in Frankfurt shows 24,852 points in the morning, a loss of almost one percent. This means the index slips below the much-noticed mark of 25,000 points. On Wednesday, the leading German index closed 1.3 percent lower at 25,104 points.
The most important US indices also fell amid rising bond yields and oil prices. The further interest rate path of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) remained uncertain. As can be seen from the minutes of the last meeting of the Fed, despite the recent unanimous decision to increase interest rates, the monetary authorities are divided about the further course.
On Thursday, investors will also continue to look at monetary policy and the development of the economy: The ECB will publish the minutes of its meeting in September, at which it increased the key interest rate for the second time this year.
Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU) presents the federal government's autumn forecast. According to Handelsblatt information, according to the government forecast, the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 1.3 percent this year and by 1.1 percent next year. When it comes to economic data, investors are also looking at the German foreign trade figures for August.
Ongoing supply fears pushed oil prices higher on Thursday. North Sea oil Brent for delivery in December and US oil WTI for delivery in November each rose by more than two percent to $102.63 and $90.16 per barrel respectively. Concerns about supply from the important production region in the Middle East were causing problems for investors.
Attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz last week reached their highest level since the start of the Iran war. At the same time, the number of ships passing through the crucial waterway fell to its lowest level in more than two months. The situation could worsen further and keep prices high, predicted Saul Kavonic, head of energy at MST Marquee. Before the Middle East conflict began at the end of February, around 20 percent of the world's oil and fuel needs passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to stockbrokers, an additional price driver is currently a tropical storm that is heading towards the offshore production areas in the USA. As of Wednesday, oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico have collectively shut down about a quarter of their current oil production and about 16 percent of their current natural gas production due to the impending hurricane, according to the Marine Minerals Administration.
German exports surprisingly fell for the second month in a row in August. They fell by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month to 137.6 billion euros, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday. Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency, however, had expected growth of 0.6 percent. The first reactions said:
"Exports have been one of the key growth drivers for the German economy this year, which is precisely why they deserve special attention. In the third quarter, the exact opposite of the previous year is the case: exports are disappointing," says Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank.
"The decisive factor will be how incoming orders will develop in the coming months. Because further export development also depends on this."
Carsten Brezeski, ING chief economist, says: "Germany's weak point is evident in trade. While German exporters benefited in the second quarter from the greater impact on Asian competitors due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, the third quarter has so far proven to be a setback."
The euro came under pressure on the foreign exchange market and fell to a 17-month low. The background is concerns about French public finances, which also weighed on Italian and Greek bonds. The euro was trading at $1.1198. The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of other major currencies, rose to 102.22 points, near an 18-month high. The dollar traded at 157.90 yen against the yen.
Bayer: Bayer has cleared a hurdle in the USA to expand the approval of its kidney drug finerenone. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the corresponding application for the drug sold under the name Kerendia for the treatment of adults with chronic kidney disease without diabetes, as the Leverkusen-based company announced on Thursday. The shares still fell by 1.3 percent.
Daimler Truck: The commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck sold significantly more trucks to customers in the third quarter than in the very weak same period last year. In the three months, the DAX group sold a total of 91,260 vehicles, 26 percent more than a year earlier, as the Swabians in Leinfelden-Echterdingen announced. The shares fell by 0.7 percent.
