The Dax started the trading day on Monday with significant losses. By 9:30 am, the leading index was calculated at around 21,355 points, 1.7 percent below the closing level of Friday.
At the top of the price list, Deutsche Telekom, Rheinmetall and Symrise were in the lead. Meanwhile, the strongest declines were seen in the auto sector, with Volkswagen, Daimler Truck, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche papers all falling by more than five percent.
Investors had to digest the announcement by US President Donald Trump, who plans to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as from China. “All those who had hoped that Trump would only use the tariffs as a threat were bitterly disappointed over the weekend” said Thomas Altmann of QC Partners. The big question now is whether and when Trump will take the tariffs seriously against imports from the EU.
“However, it should not be overlooked that the tariffs against Mexico will already hit the German economy hard” added the market expert. “The German automotive industry, for example, is heavily affected by the Mexican plants.” It is no surprise, therefore, that the mood is changing here too. “The recent stock market optimism has completely disappeared today.”
Attention is now being focused on the midday publication of new inflation data for the entire eurozone. “Germany and France have positively surprised. This nourishes the hope for the today’s data publication” said Altmann. However, the analysis of the data must take into account that prices fell by 0.4 percent in January 2024. “Against this backdrop, even a slight increase in the annual rate would not be a tragedy.