Mid-day trading on Wednesday saw the DAX maintain a marginally negative trajectory following a cautious opening. Around 12:30 PM local time, the index was calculated at approximately 24,120 points, representing a decrease of 0.1 percent compared to the previous trading day. Leading gains were Porsche, Siemens Healthineers and Beiersdorf, while Zalando, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank experienced the most significant declines.
Market analyst Andreas Lipkow attributed the subdued performance to investor assessment of the political situation in France concerning the Eurozone, combined with increasing tension between the US administration and the Federal Reserve. “While direct influence on the FOMC from the US President remains unlikely, the uncertainty surrounding attempted influence is impacting the external value of the US dollar” Lipkow explained.
Banking and insurance stocks demonstrated renewed weakness mid-week, with noticeable profit-taking following recent gains over the past few months. Lipkow noted that the market environment remained cautious ahead of the quarterly earnings report from US technology giant Nvidia.
The euro weakened during Wednesday’s session, trading at 1.1586 US dollars. Conversely, one US dollar was valued at 0.8631 euros.
Oil prices experienced a slight decrease, with a barrel of Brent crude trading at 67.19 US dollars around 12:00 PM German time, down 3 cents or 0.0 percent from the previous day’s close.