On Thursday the DAX slipped. At the close of Xetra trading, the index was calculated at 23,168 points, a drop of 0.6 % compared with the previous day’s close. After a weak start that dragged the DAX into losses, the index managed to recover a portion of those losses in the late afternoon.
“Investors are worried that another escalation could occur in the Middle East over the holiday period” commented Andreas Lipkow, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. “The war continues to hold the equity market in check. Additionally, more investors fear that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could impact the fertilizer sector and the semiconductor industry. That would affect even more sectors beyond the traditional energy dependency”. Lipkow said that investors are becoming increasingly risk‑averse, concentrating on the few crisis winners such as energy stocks and exchange operators.
Among the leading stocks in Frankfurt were Deutsche Börse, E.ON, Hannover Re and Munich Re, while telecommunications shares lagged at the bottom of the list.
Meanwhile, the price of natural gas rose. A megawatt‑hour (MWh) of gas for delivery in May cost €50, five percent higher than the previous day. If that level persists, the consumer price could stabilize at roughly €0.10‑€0.12 per kilowatt‑hour (kWh), including ancillary costs and taxes.
Oil prices climbed sharply as well. At about 17:00 PM German time on Thursday, a barrel of the North Sea Brent crude was priced at $106.70-5.5 % higher than the close on the prior trading day.
The euro was weaker in the afternoon trading session: one euro was worth $1.1552, meaning one dollar could be exchanged for €0.8657.