The German DAX index closed marginally lower on Friday, finishing at 23,698 points, a slight decrease from the previous day’s closing value. After an initially positive start, the index moved into negative territory in the morning but subsequently recovered a significant portion of those losses.
Market analyst Andreas Lipkow described the trading day as “monotonous and thin” noting that investors remained cautious heading into the weekend and were closely monitoring German insurance stocks. Conversely, automotive and chemical companies saw their shares sold off. Lipkow suggested that cyclical industries are currently not favored by market participants, with defensive sectors and technology stocks demonstrating stronger appeal.
Hannover Rück and Münchener Rück were among the top performers on the leaderboard, driven by an analyst assessment. Heidelberg Materials and Bayer shares were at the bottom of the table.
In energy markets, natural gas prices rose, with a megawatt-hour (MWh) for delivery in October trading at 33 euros, representing a 1% increase from the previous day. This suggests a consumer price of approximately 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), considering additional costs and taxes, should this price level persist.
Oil prices also rose considerably, with a barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea fetching 67.57 US dollars – an increase of 1.8% compared to the previous trading day’s close.
The euro weakened slightly against the US dollar, trading at 1.1720 US dollars. One US dollar was correspondingly valued at 0.8532 euros.