Dax Plunges into the Abyss as Hedge Funds Bet on Doom

Dax Plunges into the Abyss as Hedge Funds Bet on Doom

30 am, a decline of 0.3 percent compared to the previous day’s close. Vonovia, MTU and Deutsche Telekom led the list of gainers, while Heidelberg Materials, Siemens and Continental ended the list with the largest losses.

Thomas Altmann of QC Partners noted that the volume of hedging in the Dax has been increasing steadily. Upon examining all open Dax options positions, he found that the top 28 positions are all put options, with the first call option only appearing at number 29. “This is absolutely remarkable and it shows how many of the current rallies on European stock exchanges are mistrusted” he said.

From a European perspective, the highlight of the day was the Eurozone’s inflation rate for May, according to Altmann. “On the trading floor, a decline to the ECB’s target of 2.0 percent is expected, paving the way for the next interest rate cut” he said.

The European common currency, the euro, was slightly weaker in the morning, with one euro costing 1.1425 US dollars and one US dollar worth 0.8753 euros.

Meanwhile, the oil price rose, with a barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea costing around 64.91 US dollars at 9 am German time, a 28-cent or 0.4 percent increase from the previous day’s close.