Losses caught up: the calm before the storm in the DAX?

Virtual standstill in the DAX

The current stock market development continues to demand a lot of patience from investors. The bottom line is that the DAX has practically not moved in the past three April weeks. The German stock exchange barometer has got stuck in the haze of the 15,900 point mark. The psychologically important mark of 16,000 points and the all-time high of 16,290 points at the end of 2021 are not far away.

Tension grows in front of numbers from Apple, Microsoft & Co

Recently, however, rising US interest rate expectations dampened investors’ buying mood. The support from seasonality is also gradually fading, as the positive stock market phase from November to April is rapidly approaching its end.

In the new stock market week, the reporting season in the USA is also in full swing. Big tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft will open their books later this week. These each have the potential to make their mark on the market and determine its direction.

ifo index remains below expectations

Until then, however, investors should hold back with larger commitments. Even the ifo index was not able to cause any major price fluctuations in the morning – no wonder, since the German economy is currently lacking momentum. The barometer for the mood in the German economy climbed to 93.6 points in April, but fell short of expectations.

According to Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank, the air for the German economy is gradually getting thinner. “In Germany, periods of interest rate increases are always followed by a recession with an average delay of five quarters,” says the economist.

US futures slightly down

The US stock market indices are also unable to free themselves from the ongoing concerns about interest rates and the economy. The much-anticipated Federal Reserve rate meeting is next week. Wall Street should open lower. The future on the leading US index Dow Jones is currently losing 0.2 percent, the future on the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 is recording price losses to the same extent.

Oil a little cheaper again

At the beginning of the week, oil prices continued their weak trend of the previous week. At lunchtime, a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in June costs 81.35 dollars. That is 0.2 percent less than on Friday.

Oil prices have come under significant pressure over the past week. The bottom line was that prices fell by around four dollars. The decisive factors were predominantly weak economic data from the USA, which gave rise to new concerns about the economy.

Gold moves further away from $2000 mark

The US interest rate expectations, which have recently picked up again, are meanwhile weighing on the price of gold, as the yellow precious metal itself does not yield any interest. A troy ounce of gold cost 1983 dollars at midday, down 0.1 percent.

Euro rises above $1.10

The euro has recovered its initial losses against the dollar and turned positive. The European currency climbed above the much-noticed $1.10 mark during trading. At the high, $1.1020 is being paid for one euro. The one-year high of $1.1074, marked just over a week ago, remains within reach.

Software AG: Price surge after takeover bid

On the company side, Darmstadt-based Software AG is in focus at the beginning of the week. The stock is up almost 50 percent. The technology investment company Silver Lake wants to take over the group. Shareholders will be offered EUR 30 per share. Silver Lake would be worth 2.2 billion euros for the SDAX company. Software AG’s closing price on Friday was just under EUR 20.

BGH “Diesel Senate” collects car loan clause at Mercedes

Mercedes buyers have not lost any claims for damages in the diesel scandal when they take out their car loan. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) declared a corresponding clause in the Mercedes-Benz Bank loan agreements to be invalid.

Salzgitter started the year better than expected

The steel manufacturer Salzgitter started the current year better than expected. Pre-tax profit fell by a little more than 60 percent from the extraordinarily high figure of the previous year of EUR 465 million to EUR 183 million. However, experts had expected a much sharper decline to just over 100 million euros.

Elmos Semiconductor continues to slide

After a cautious analyst comment, the shares of Elmos Semiconductor continue to pay tribute to their price gains of the past six months. After Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking canceled a buy recommendation, the price fell by more than six percent at the beginning of the week to its lowest level in two months.

Tesla wants to ship Chinese-made cars to Canada

According to an insider, Tesla wants to export Chinese-made cars to North America for the first time. In Shanghai, the US electric car maker started production of its “Model Y” for export to Canada earlier this month, the insider told Reuters news agency. The vehicles designed for Canada should be sold later this year.

Kretinsky offers casino a multi-billion dollar capital increase

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky wants to expand his influence through French retailer Casino. The company controlled by Kretinsky, EP Global Commerce, offered to subscribe to a capital increase of 1.1 billion euros. According to an insider, Kretinsky would receive a 40 percent stake in the heavily indebted company.

Customers withdraw billions more from Credit Suisse

At the crisis-ridden major Swiss bank Credit Suisse, the outflow of assets continued in the first quarter. Customers withdrew 61.2 billion francs net in the period from January to March. For the second quarter and for the year as a whole, the bank announced a significant pre-tax loss.

Yara and VNG cooperate in Rostock

The Norwegian chemical, fertilizer and industrial gas group Yara and the Leipzig gas importer VNG want to cooperate in Rostock in setting up and expanding an infrastructure for climate-friendly ammonia and hydrogen. Both companies intend to sign a corresponding declaration of intent today.

Uber rival Lyft is cutting even more jobs

The US ride-hailing service Lyft announced a new round of layoffs shortly after changing its boss. “We will significantly reduce the size of our team,” said new CEO David Risher to employees on Friday. According to information from the “Wall Street Journal”, at least 1,200 of the approximately 4,000 employees should go.

GAM aims to be acquired by Liontrust by May 4th

The crisis-ridden Swiss fund house GAM intends to successfully complete negotiations on a takeover by the British fund manager Liontrust Asset Management by May 4th at the latest. “The discussions are aimed at strategically positioning the company in the best interests of all stakeholders,” stated GAM.

Philips catches itself in day-to-day business

The medical technology group Philips did unexpectedly well in day-to-day business in the first quarter. Nevertheless, the Dutch Siemens Healthineers competitor suffered another setback because of expensive provisions. The net loss increased more than fourfold and amounted to 665 million euros.