The Dax index experienced a significant increase on Thursday, closing at 24,423 points – a 1.3% gain compared to the previous day’s close. The index, which began the day with a positive trend, further extended its gains in the morning and largely maintained them throughout the afternoon.
Market analyst Andreas Lipkow suggested that the rally may be driven by investor sentiment ahead of the upcoming earnings season. “It appears market participants want to see the Dax index reach record levels once again” he commented, noting a particular focus on technology stocks.
Lipkow attributed the upward momentum to continued enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence. “The ‘AI fantasy’ continues to propel the technology sector” he explained. “Negative trading impulses and data are consistently disregarded and reinterpreted as support for further interest rate cuts in the United States. Geopolitical influences and unanswered questions, such as the war in Ukraine and trade disputes between the US and China, are playing a secondary role.
Siemens, Siemens Energy and Zalando were among the top performers on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as the trading day neared its conclusion. Conversely, Merck, MTU and Scout 24 registered among the lowest.
Gas prices saw a slight increase; a megawatt-hour (MWh) of gas for delivery in November cost 31 euros. This translates to a consumer price of at least 8 to 9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), assuming this price level is sustained.
Conversely, the oil price declined notably. A barrel of Brent North Sea crude was trading at $64.58 at around 5:00 PM local time, a decrease of 77 cents or 1.2% compared to the end of the previous trading day.
The European currency weakened slightly during Thursday afternoon. The euro was trading at $1.1693, with a dollar fetching 0.8552 euros.