30 AM, marking a slight increase of 0..2 percent from the previous day’s closing level. According to Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, the DAX is continuing to seek direction as trading enters the last day of the week, and following the agreed-upon ceasefire in the Middle East.
In Asia, investors ended the day with predominantly positive price trends. This optimism was fueled by the expectation of continued talks between the US and Iran aimed at achieving a ceasefire. A slightly more positive trading opening is also visible on European exchanges. The DAX in Frankfurt remains somewhat stagnant, with investors looking for clearer guidance. Whether this stable trend continues depends both on the news situation in the Middle East and pending US consumer price data.
The harmonized consumer prices for Germany came in at 2.8 percent growth, which was within expectations. Attention is now focused on how the war has impacted US inflation. Furthermore, the consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan is also a key point of interest. On the corporate side, quarterly figures from the technology conglomerate TSMC are expected to provide momentum for semiconductor stocks in Europe, as these results were markedly positive and should lift sentiment in that sector.
Overall, the Iran conflict remains the decisive variable for the stock market’s development. As long as oil remains priced above $100 per barrel, caution is advised. Lipkow noted that the German industrial and logistics sectors, in particular, are suffering from high energy costs and could face lasting dampening effects.
Regarding currency movements, the European common currency was slightly weaker on Friday morning: the Euro cost 1.1687 US dollars, meaning a dollar equated to 0.8557 Euros. The price of gold showed weakness, opening at $4,754 per fine ounce (-0.2 percent), equivalent to 130.78 Euros per gram. Conversely, the price of oil rose significantly. A barrel of Brent crude oil in the North Sea cost $97.55 on Friday morning, representing a 1.7 percent increase compared to the previous day’s closing price.