The Dax index slipped slightly on Wednesday. At the Xetra closing, the index was calculated at 20,330 points, a minus of 0.1 percent compared to the previous day’s close. The Dax had continued to rise until midday before reversing and falling into the red.
“The Dax got cold feet around 50 points below its all-time high and took a step back today” commented Konstantin Oldenburger, a market analyst at CMC Markets. “The market has risen too strongly and too quickly over the past three days, even considering the comparison to US indices.” The reasons for today’s “slip” were renewed speculation about the possible tariffs that the new US President Trump could announce in about 12 days, Oldenburger said. “Unlike on Monday, investors focused on the other extreme today, with the possibility that Trump could declare a national economic emergency on his first day in office to justify the imposition of universal tariffs on both friends and foes worldwide” the analyst explained.
Both headlines are purely speculative. “It is still unclear how the tariff policy of the new US government will look. In the end, it will likely be a mix of broad and targeted approaches, starting with lower tariffs than feared and possibly not planning regular increases, until the affected countries adjust their course” Oldenburger said. “There is no guarantee until the ink has dried on the relevant decrees.”
In Frankfurt, Rheinmetall shares led the list of gainers, while Infineon and Siemens Energy shares lagged at the end of the session.
Meanwhile, the gas price fell: a megawatt-hour of gas for delivery in February cost 46 euros, a four percent decrease from the previous day. This implies a consumer price of at least nine to 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, including additional costs and taxes, should the price level remain the same.
The oil price also fell: a barrel of Brent North Sea oil cost $76.53 at around 5 pm German time, a 52-cent or 0.7 percent decrease from the previous day’s close.
The European common currency was weaker on Wednesday: one euro cost $1.0303, and one dollar was worth $0.9706.