On Thursday, a large number of German and European companies will once again present their figures. Investors will be particularly excited about Christine Lagarde's speech.
Dusseldorf. Quarterly results and the interest rate decision of the European Central Bank (ECB) are the focus of trading on Thursday. However, the Dax found no direction in early trading and was up 0.4 percent at 25,807 points. The quarterly figures of large companies paint an inconsistent picture of Germany's economic situation.
The day before, even robust quarterly figures from important DAX companies were unable to give the DAX an upswing. After a weak start to trading, the index closed at least slightly higher at 25,704 points.
On Thursday, in addition to Volkswagen, a number of medium-sized companies also presented their figures, including many in other European countries:
Volkswagen: The car manufacturer reports a loss of billions for the third quarter, the share price is slightly in the red. The group cited special effects as the reason, in particular a write-down on the goodwill of the sports and off-road vehicle subsidiary Porsche.
Adidas: The sporting goods company wants to get back on track for growth in the Christmas business in Europe. The share rose by 2.3 percent.
Henkel: Thanks to a surprisingly strong third quarter, the consumer goods and adhesives manufacturer is more optimistic about the year as a whole. The share rose by 2.6 percent.
MTU: The engine manufacturer MTU has also revised its forecast upwards after a surprisingly good quarter. The share lost 3.1 percent.
ING: The Dutch financial institution missed analysts' expectations and cut 400 jobs as part of a corporate restructuring. The share loses four percent.
“The stock markets are processing yesterday’s after-hours results from Alphabet and Microsoft today,” says Thomas Altmann from QC Partners. The two tech companies presented their figures on Wednesday evening.
Google parent company Alphabet missed Wall Street's expectations in both sales and profits in the third quarter. At the same time, investors' doubts are growing as to whether the record spending on artificial intelligence (AI) will ultimately pay off. The share temporarily fell by almost eleven percent after trading on Wednesday.
At Microsoft, net profit rose from $27.7 billion in the same period last year to $36.6 billion in the past quarter. The stock rose after-hours.
The Dax is on the verge of its biggest winning streak since the beginning of January. For this to happen, however, the leading index would also have to end Thursday, and thus for the fourth day in a row, on a positive note.
ECB is likely to keep the key interest rate constant
In the afternoon the ECB will decide on key interest rates. Inflation in the euro zone is at a three-year high and is expected to continue to rise. The ECB recently increased interest rates for this reason. Investors are expecting further interest rate increases, but analysts expect the ECB to keep key interest rates constant at today's meeting. But the sell-off in French government bonds actually requires the opposite measures.
Inflation hits debt crisis: For the ECB the situation is more delicate than it has been for a long time
A further interest rate increase could put the country with its high national debt under even further pressure. While young people in France have been taking to the streets for weeks to demonstrate against plans to cut the French budget, investors are demanding even greater cuts to curb France's debt. For the ECB, the interest rate decision is a balancing act between various monetary policy goals.
According to Thomas Altmann, it is interesting to see whether ECB boss Christine Lagarde is “verbally preparing a possible interest rate increase for December”. The probability of such an interest rate move is currently estimated at 89 percent.
Oil prices are falling slightly, but remain at a high level. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in December costs $110.47 in early trading.
Look at other individual values
Vonovia: The real estate group's shares are a clear loser in the DAX with a loss of seven percent. Vonovia had cut its profit forecast the evening before.
Telekom: The mobile phone provider's shares are up 2.5 percent. According to a media report, the planned merger with T-Mobile could fail.
