The DAX moved modestly into positive territory by mid‑afternoon after a very cautious start to the trading day. At around 12:30 p.m. Central European Time the index was calculated at roughly 25,265 points, a 0.4 percent rise on the previous day’s close. Among the best performers were Infineon, BASF and FMC, whereas Heidelberg Materials, Scout24 and MTU lagged at the bottom of the list.
“We’ve seen a cautiously optimistic mood on the Frankfurt exchange” said Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. “Investors remain committed to the DAX and hope for a continued economic upswing in Germany”. Lipkow added that sector rotation has helped sustain the index around the 25,000‑25,200 level for several weeks.
He cautioned that traders should remain wary because “the trading volume has been declining for a number of days” leaving the current consolidation phase on shaky footing. Nevertheless, opportunities could arise if buyers re‑enter and push prices higher with greater volume.
Meanwhile, the euro weakened slightly at mid‑afternoon: one euro was worth 1.1803 U.S. dollars, or conversely, one U.S. dollar was 0.8472 euros.
Oil prices fell noticeably. A Brent crude barrel was trading at about $69.94 in Germany around noon, down 91 cents (1.3 percent) from the close of the previous trading day.