On Thursday the DAX rose sharply. By the close of Xetra trading the index was at 24,856 points, up 1.2 % from the previous day’s close. After a buoyant start, the DAX stayed comfortably in the green.
Christine Romar, Head of Europe at CMC Markets, said the hope for a durable easing of pressures on two geopolitical fronts and one monetary front has sparked a positive counter‑reaction in the DAX after the 1,000‑point slump that saw the market earlier in the week. She noted that, following the framework agreement on Greenland’s future and the trade tariffs that President Trump then pulled back, there appears to be renewed movement in the Ukraine peace talks. A third piece of positive news over the past 24 hours was the US Supreme Court’s doubts about the legality of Governor Cook’s dismissal and the Fed’s emphasis on its independence, which has helped restore some risk appetite among investors.
Romar also pointed out that, despite these bright spots, investors remain wary of how quickly any good news might lose steam. This skepticism is reflected in a continued flight to the safe‑haven of gold. After a brief dip, the metal quickly recovered and crossed the $5,000 per ounce mark again. She cautioned that any movement in the DAX towards 25,000 points shouldn’t yet be taken as a definitive turnaround, adding that only a “Taco” trade seemed to work once more this week.
Near the end of the trading day, shares of Volkswagen, Porsche and Heidelberg Materials were at the top of the leaderboard, while Rheinmetall finished at the bottom.
Gas prices fell: a megawatt‑hour (MWh) of natural gas for February delivery cost 38 Euro, 3 % lower than the day before. At that level, a retail consumer would pay about eight to ten cent per kilowatt‑hour (kWh) including taxes and other charges, assuming the price remains stable.
Oil was also down relative to its previous close; Brent crude was priced at US $64.29 per barrel at 5 p.m. German time, 95 cents or 1.5 % lower than the prior day’s closing price.
The euro strengthened against the dollar in the afternoon: one euro was worth US $1.1742, which translates to 0.8516 euros per US dollar.