The German market opened a little lower on Friday morning. By 9:30 a.m., the DAX was calculated at around 25,305 points, roughly 0.1 percent above the previous day’s closing level.
Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, noted that Asian investors had taken profits on well‑performing stocks, notably technology names, at the end of the week. In contrast, the Chinese market remained an outlier, still benefiting from the new tariffs. On average, Chinese companies face a 15.6 percent duty, which helps sustain the export‑driven economy in the Middle Kingdom.
For February, the DAX has already posted a solid gain of 3.3 percent-a noteworthy performance given the many disruptive factors and the ongoing fragile situation between Iran and the United States. While some other European indices have reached new record highs, Germany’s heavy reliance on exports has dampened potential price gains.
Pre‑market activity focused on BASF’s earnings. The chemicals giant is again impacted by the weak economic outlook in the Eurozone, with analysts expecting next year’s profits to stagnate at last year’s levels. The lack of earnings momentum has pushed the stock into a loss territory ahead of trading.
Investors will be keeping an eye on the afternoon releases of German consumer price inflation and U.S. producer price data. At 4 p.m., the Chicago PMI will also be released, according to Lipkow.
The euro traded slightly stronger on Friday morning: one euro bought 1.1816 U.S. dollars, while one dollar could be exchanged for 0.8463 euros.
Gold slipped marginally. A fine ounce fetched 5,177 U.S. dollars-down 0.1 percent-equivalent to 140.85 euros per gram.
Brent crude was up, with a North Sea barrel priced at 71.17 U.S. dollars at 9 a.m. German time, a rise of 42 cents or 0.6 percent over the previous close.