European markets exhibited a mixed performance at the close of trading Friday, with Germany’s DAX index finishing marginally lower. The DAX concluded the session at 24,359 points, representing a decrease of 0.1 percent from the previous day’s close. Initial gains experienced earlier in the day were gradually eroded, ultimately leading to a slight downturn in the afternoon.
Market analyst Andreas Lipkow described the current environment as “very mixed” cautioning against premature assessments. He highlighted the upcoming central bank meeting in September as a key event to watch. Lipkow noted that recent US economic and price data suggest potential for short-term price declines, while retail sales figures fell below expectations, although June data was revised upwards. The Empire State Index also performed better than anticipated.
Within the DAX, shares of Bayer and Airbus led the gainers toward the end of trading, while Siemens Energy stocks lagged behind.
Commodity markets also saw shifts. Natural gas prices decreased, with a megawatt-hour costing 31 euros, a 4 percent reduction from the previous day. Sustained at this level, this translates to a consumer price of approximately eight to nine cents per kilowatt-hour, including additional costs and taxes.
Oil prices also edged lower, with Brent crude trading at 66.48 US dollars per barrel, down 0.5 percent from the previous close.
In currency markets, the Euro strengthened against the US dollar, trading at 1.1712 US dollars, while the dollar was valued at 0.8538 Euros.