Market report: DAX weakens after four days of gains

The leading German index starts trading with a loss of 0.3 percent to 26,705 points. On Thursday, the DAX ended trading with an increase of 0.4 percent to 26,771 points. This was the fourth day in a row that he had gained.

During the course of the day, a new DAX record was broken: the leading index climbed over 27,000 points for the first time - peaking at 27,001 points. Since the beginning of the year, the German leading index has increased by around ten percent. The weekly increase is currently around three percent.

The reporting season is now almost over. The management consultancy EY draws a first preliminary balance of the reporting season. It is positive for the DAX companies. Germany's stock market heavyweights earned around 38 billion euros in the third quarter. Despite the weakness of car manufacturers, this is an increase of 4.6 percent.

Growth is now based on several pillars: energy, infrastructure, defense and technology, these are developing dynamically, explains Henrik Ahlers, Chairman of the EY Management Board. Deutsche Telekom reported the highest operating quarterly profit of the DAX companies at around 7.4 billion euros. It is followed by Allianz with 4.7 billion euros and Siemens with 3.3 billion euros. 27 companies increased their profits, ten saw their operating profit decline.

Where can new impulses for the stock market come from now? The accounting season is almost over and is no longer a price driver. For investors, topics such as monetary policy, geopolitics and the economy are becoming more important again. The issue of inflation in particular remains a driver of prices, as it is crucial for the interest rates of the central banks.

That's why the wholesale prices published today are worth a look. In October they increased more than ever since February 2023, rising by 8.8 percent compared to the same month last year. Raw material prices in particular are a burden. Mineral oil products rose in price by around 48 percent.

If wholesale prices rise, this will likely affect consumer prices later. In order to curb rising inflation, central banks could be forced to raise interest rates. The stock markets don't like that: high interest rates dampen the economy and ensure that fixed-interest securities are a high-yield alternative to stocks.

That's why investors are now hoping for sustainably falling oil prices. However, given the uncertain situation in the Middle East, they are currently finding it difficult to find a direction. North Sea oil Brent rose in price by 0.5 percent to $96.34 per barrel. The price of US oil WTI was just in the red at $88.68. On a weekly basis, prices for Brent and WTI have fallen by more than two percent.

The hope of an early solution to the Iran war was dampened at the end of the week. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have attacked a US early warning radar in Bahrain, according to state media. This was in retaliation for an airstrike on a telecommunications tower in the southern Iranian city of Sirik, the reports said.