At the start of the new stock market week, there were initially no signs of any major price jumps on the German stock market. At the start of trading, the DAX remained above the round mark of 25,000 points, with an increase of 0.2 percent to 25,280 points.
In the first few minutes, the leading German index turned negative and finally lost 0.1 percent. On Friday, the DAX had gained 1.2 percent to 25,231 points, limiting its weekly loss to 0.7 percent.
Among the individual values, Telekom is probably worth a look today: Deutsche Telekom wants to save a lot through the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI). In 2027, costs are expected to fall by 1.1 billion euros compared to 2023, and by 2030 the savings will increase to 2.5 billion euros. However, the expenses are not taken into account in this calculation.
At the same time, Telekom forecast strong growth in its AI business. The company announced the AI strategy at its first investor day dedicated to the technology. Among other things, practical application examples will be presented at the event.
Car stocks could also come into focus today: the mood in the German automotive industry deteriorated significantly in September. The barometer for the business climate fell to minus 35.0 points, as the Munich ifo Institute announced. The companies rated their business situation as worse than ever this year.
And the mood among German consumers has also deteriorated just a few weeks before the start of the Christmas shopping season. The barometer for the consumer climate fell by 1.19 points to 93.51 points in October, as the German Trade Association (HDE) announced. It is therefore significantly below the level of the same month last year. “There is currently no sign of an upturn in private consumption,” is the conclusion of the HDE. “This also clouds the expectations for the Christmas business somewhat.” At the end of the year, many stores make a large portion of their sales.
The euro is also under pressure; on Monday it continued its downward trend of the past few weeks and fell below the $1.12 mark. Although this is positive for export companies, the political uncertainty is worrying investors. “Investors are withdrawing their trust in the euro,” commented market expert Thomas Altmann from asset manager QC Partners.
Before the weekend, the focus was on the recent rise in French government bond yields. Over the ten-year term, the yield was significantly higher compared to federal bonds. This is also putting a strain on the stock markets: "The development of the bond markets on both sides of the Atlantic is likely to continue to cause headaches," said Timo Emden, chief market analyst at the online broker CapTrader. Bond yields and the oil price are currently the decisive factors for the stock markets.
Prices on the raw materials market remain high; Brent crude oil from the North Sea recently cost $101.68 per barrel (159 liters). US oil WTI was trading at $90.18. Rising crude oil exports from the Middle East and the release of 100 million barrels from the emergency reserves of the G7 countries pushed prices down. This offset concerns about Houthi rebel attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities and increasing attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
No relief is initially expected from important oil exporting countries in the OPEC+ alliance: They do not want to increase their production targets in November either. Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other states announced this after an online meeting. This means that the group's production limits will remain the same for the second month in a row.
The prospect of an interest rate break in the USA drove the Asian stock markets at the start of the week. US labor market data that was weaker than expected dampened investors' concerns about interest rates. The risk of further job losses means the Fed won't be able to raise interest rates another 100 basis points, analysts say. Investors are now pricing in just a 22 percent chance of a rate hike this month.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index, which includes 225 stocks, rose by 2.4 percent to 69,946 points on Monday. However, trading volume was low because the Shanghai Stock Exchange was closed for a holiday.
