The Dax index struggled to find a clear direction on Friday, after a previously cautious start to the trading day. By 12:30 pm, the leading index was calculated at around 21,935 points, just 0.1 percent above the previous day’s close.
Notable outliers were Rheinmetall, which was up and Porsche, which was at the lower end of the spectrum. The arms manufacturer’s stock may be buoyed by the lack of a ceasefire in Ukraine, while Porsche is expected to report another decline in profits this year and plans to increase production of internal combustion engines in the future.
“Market participants had to process a lot of information on Friday and position themselves for the upcoming weekend” said market analyst Andreas Lipkow. “On the one hand, investors are still looking to position themselves in German stocks, as they are underpriced internationally. On the other hand, economic data and potential US tariffs are a counterweight to these efforts.”
“With each new record high in the Dax, even the last hesitant investors are being pulled along to try to maintain the performance of the benchmark. The bad news from Porsche and the knock-on effects on other automakers are limited, however, due to the relatively small weight of the automotive sector in the Dax” Lipkow noted, adding that this trading behavior has been observable for several trading days now.
The European common currency was slightly weaker on Friday afternoon, with one euro costing around 1.0379 US dollars and one dollar being worth approximately 0.9635 euros.