The DAX opened trading on Thursday with losses. At about 9:30 a.m. the index was measured at roughly 22,930 points, which is 1.6 % below the closing level of the previous day. The performance leaders were Brenntag, Hannover Rück and E.ON, while Infineon, Siemens Energy and Deutsche Bank finished at the bottom of the list.
Thomas Altmann of QC Partners explained how the current market direction is largely driven by the U.S. President: “Donald Trump is currently almost acting alone in setting the direction and pace of the markets” he said. “After a brief recovery, he sends the markets into another downturn. The markets had just started to price a calmer future, and now he issues new threats towards Tehran”. He went on to note that the expected market reactions are already playing out – stocks, bonds and Bitcoin are falling, while oil prices are rising.
According to Altmann, the recovery in the DAX may end today after three consecutive trading days in the green. “The focus is now on the 23,000‑point threshold” he said. Since the start of the conflict, the index has crossed that level at least once in six trading days, and he added that there could be several more days of volatility.
In currency markets, the euro was weaker on Thursday morning: 1 € cost 1.1529 USD, and 1 USD was worth 0.8674 €.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil saw a strong jump. At around 9 a.m. German time, one barrel of North Sea Brent was priced at $108.00, a 6.7 % increase over the previous day’s closing price.