The DAX index was up at midday on Friday after a somewhat slow start to trading. Around 9:30 a.m., the benchmark index was calculated at approximately 23,975 points, marking a 0.7 percent increase from the previous day’s closing level.
Several stocks benefited from the market movement, including those from Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, and Infineon. However, shares in the defense contractor Rheinmetall were noticeably down, particularly after a brief easing of tension regarding the situation in Iran.
Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, commented that “investors remain in a holding pattern”. He noted that on one hand, the situation in the Middle East remains uncertain, while on the other, several stocks are trading at very attractive price levels.
Lipkow added that trading volume across the overall market has also been decreasing over the past few days, suggesting that investors are taking a wait-and-see approach. He explained that recent market sentiment had been largely clouded by the conflict in Iran and the accompanying sharp rise in energy prices.
He also pointed out that signs of an observable bottoming out in the German economy had appeared before the conflict, suggesting a potential trend reversal. Now, however, this economic movement is questioned because the impact of the latest events on inflation and consumer spending is not yet fully clear. According to Lipkow, initial answers to these questions might come from macroeconomic data expected from the US this afternoon.
Later on Friday afternoon, the common European currency strengthened slightly, with one Euro priced at 1.1709 US dollars, and correspondingly, one dollar traded for 0.8540 Euros.
Gold prices weakened, with the price for a fine ounce at the afternoon session standing at $4,753 (-0.2 percent). This equated to a price of 130.50 Euros per gram.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose; a barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea cost $96.84 around noon German time on Friday afternoon, which was 1.0 percent higher than the previous day’s close, or 92 cents more.