Financial Markets Experience a Slow Start to the Week, with the Dax Index Opening Down by 0.4 Percent
The Frankfurt stock exchange got off to a sluggish start on the Monday after Pentecost, with the Dax index initially recording losses. By 9:30 am, the Dax had been calculated at around 24,210 points, a 0.4 percent decline compared to the closing of the previous Friday. FMC, Bayer and Vonovia led the list of gainers, while Rheinmetall, SAP and Siemens Energy trailed at the bottom.
According to Thomas Altmann of QC Partners, the trading volume at the Dax is likely to be below average on this Pentecost Monday, as it was last year, when approximately 25 percent fewer shares were traded compared to a regular trading day. “Additionally, volumes have been low lately” Altmann noted.
Despite the reduced trading volume, a few large trades could still have a lasting impact on the market, Altmann said. Meanwhile, the volume of hedging contracts, or put options, continues to rise, reaching a new high for the year, just short of the record set in March. At that time, the put-open-interest was two percent higher than it is now.
The euro, the common currency of the European Union, fared better, strengthening in the morning to 1.1421 US dollars per euro, with the dollar, in turn, being worth 0.8756 euros.
Oil prices, however, took a hit, with a barrel of Brent crude oil from the North Sea costing around 66.26 US dollars at 9 am German time, a decline of 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, from the previous day’s close.