The DAX index closed with a gain of 0.5 percent on Wednesday, reaching 23,790 points at the Xetra trading session’s end. After a positive start to the day, the index briefly dipped into negative territory in the early afternoon before recovering to morning levels.
Investor sentiment was impacted by US jobs data released by ADP, which revealed a decline of 33,000 jobs in the non-agricultural sector, falling short of the expected increase of 99,000. Market analyst Andreas Lipkow described this as a “significant and rapid reversal” in the US labor market warranting continued observation.
Lipkow noted that the ADP data could potentially affect consumer spending, impacting businesses. He also suggested the data might fuel speculation about interest rate hikes, potentially providing the US Federal Reserve with more flexibility in its monetary policy. However, he cautioned that market participants would await the official US jobs report for a clearer picture, viewing the ADP data as a preliminary indicator.
Leading stocks on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange near the close included shares of BMW, Daimler Truck and Commerzbank. Conversely, Zalando, Vonovia and Deutsche Börse were among the laggards.
Meanwhile, the price of natural gas decreased by one percent, with a megawatt-hour (MWh) contract for August delivery costing 33 euros, equating to a consumer price of approximately eight to ten cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) including ancillary costs and taxes, assuming the price level remains stable.
In contrast, oil prices saw an increase, with a barrel of North Sea Brent crude trading at 67.70 US dollars around 5:00 PM CET, a rise of 0.9 percent or 59 cents from the previous day’s close.
The Euro weakened against the US dollar during Wednesday afternoon, with one Euro trading at 1.1778 US dollars.