The Dax started the trading day on Monday with a loss. By 9:30 am, the leading index was calculated at around 20,350 points, 0.3% below the closing value of Friday. Commerzbank, Rheinmetall, and Zalando were at the top of the price list, while Vonovia, the Porsche Holding, and Sartorius were at the end.
“With the start of this Monday, a busy stock week begins” said Thomas Altmann of QC Partners. A world tour of central banks, including the Fed, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan, is on the horizon, in addition to the largest and most important options expiration of the year.
Dax stockholders went into this “hot stock week” well hedged, Altmann said. “The outstanding puts have reached a level just below the previous year’s high. With the year-end approaching, many are no longer willing to risk their high profits.”
The confidence vote of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the Bundestag, on the other hand, will likely have no significant impact on the stock market. “The defeat and the subsequent re-election are already priced in on the floor” the market expert said.
The European common currency was a bit stronger on Monday morning: one euro cost 1.0509 US dollars, and one dollar was worth 0.9516 euros.
Meanwhile, the oil price fell: a barrel of North Sea Brent cost around 9 am German time 74.28 US dollars, which was 21 cents or 0.3% less than at the close of the previous trading day.