The Dax index closed with a gain on Thursday. At the Xetra market close, the index was calculated at 20,025 points, a 0.6% increase compared to the previous day’s close. After the Dax had initially slipped in the morning, it approached the all-time high in the afternoon.
The impetus came from the US. “Initial jobless claims came in lower than expected” commented market analyst Andreas Lipkow. “This may further dampen rate-cut hopes, but it should, for the time being, stabilize the US economic picture.”
Lipkow, however, expressed disappointment over economic data from Europe. “Today’s European purchasing managers’ indices have once again confirmed the disastrous economic picture in the EU. It would take a lot of optimism and economic momentum from China and the US to pull the EU’s economy out of the recession” the analyst explained.
Until just before the market close, Airbus shares led the list of gainers in Frankfurt, driven by analysts’ estimates of the number of machines delivered in December. The closing laggards were shares of Rheinmetall, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, and Fresenius Medical Care.
Meanwhile, the gas price rose: a megawatt-hour (MWh) of gas for delivery in February cost 50 euros, a 3% increase over the previous day. This implies a consumer price of at least around 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) including additional costs and taxes, if the price level remains stable.
The oil price rose significantly: a barrel of North Sea Brent cost $76.14 at 5 pm German time, a 2% increase over the previous day’s close.
The European common currency was significantly weaker at the market close on Thursday: one euro cost $1.0249 (-1.04%) against the US dollar, with the dollar available for 0.9757 euros.