The DAX opened on Wednesday morning with a modest gain after a series of sharp losses over the past few days. At around 9:30 a.m. local time the index was calculated at roughly 23,875 points, about 0.4 percent above the previous day’s closing level. SAP, Infineon and Munich Re topped the list of performers, while Adidas, Bayer and Continental fell to the bottom.
Thomas Altmann of QC Partners said that “nervousness among investors is growing”. He added that the number of people who wish to sell or are forced to sell their shares is increasing. Yesterday’s trading volume on the DAX was 67 percent higher than the twelve‑month average. In doing so, the index broke the psychologically important 24,000‑point barrier as well as its 200‑day moving average-a line many investors and trading models rely on. Altmann noted that this decline could have pushed many out of the market.
The euro was slightly stronger on Wednesday morning. One euro exchanged for 1.1618 U.S. dollars, and one U.S. dollar was worth 0.8607 euros.
Brent crude prices also rose sharply. Around 9 a.m. local time a barrel of North Sea Brent fetched $83.86-up 3.0 percent from the close of the previous trading day.