The Dax continued to decline on Monday, following a weak start to the trading week, until lunchtime. By around 12:30 pm, the leading index was calculated at approximately 20,060 points, 0.8% lower than the closing level on Friday.
Especially under pressure were the shares of Infineon, Deutsche Bank, and Heidelberg Materials. In contrast, the papers of RWE, Porsche, and Deutsche Telekom were bucking the trend, rising.
“The market participants are taking the negative course of the Asian markets and applying it to European stocks as well” said market analyst Andreas Lipkow. A growing skepticism about the further monetary policy in the US is spreading, and the debate on trade tariffs is also gaining new dynamics.
“In a week, the new US President will be officially sworn in, and many investors are expecting a paradigm shift in US trade policy. It is still unclear how far-reaching the changes will be and which branches and countries will be most severely affected.”
As a result, market participants are currently holding on to upcoming milestones and data. “In the spotlight, therefore, are the upcoming US inflation data on Wednesday and the start of the US reporting season on Thursday” said Lipkow.
The European common currency was weaker on Monday afternoon: one euro cost approximately 1.0193 US dollars, and one dollar was worth 0.9811 euros accordingly.