The German stock market index, Dax, reached a new record high on Tuesday, closing at 24,226 points at the Xetra trading close, a 0.8 percent increase from the previous day’s close. The index peaked at 24,300 points around 4:26 pm, with shares of Zalando, Qiagen and Rheinmetall being particularly in demand. On the other end of the scale, Eon, RWE and Heidelberg Materials saw their share prices decline.
Market analyst Andreas Lipkow attributed the Dax’s performance to investors continuing to focus on technology stocks and recent favorites. He noted that defensive sectors like RWE and Eon were less sought after, while Fresenius and reinsurance companies were also on the selling list.
The US economy also presented a robust picture, with better-than-expected orders for durable goods, particularly in the aerospace industry, following a resurgence in demand for Boeing aircraft. This development, however, reduced the likelihood of a near-term interest rate cut in the US, according to Lipkow.
The euro was weaker against the US dollar, trading at 1.1331 US dollars per euro, while the dollar was valued at 0.8825 euros. The gold price fell, with one troy ounce selling for 3,293 US dollars, equivalent to 93.43 euros per gram, a 1.4 percent decline.
Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil price dropped, with a barrel of the North Sea variety trading at 63.66 US dollars at 5 pm German time, a 1.7 percent decrease from the previous day’s close.