The German stock market started the new week with slight losses. The Dax recently fell by 0.37 percent to 14,743 points after falling below the much-noticed mark of 15,000 points to a seven-month low the previous week and ultimately losing more than two and a half percent.
The MDax of medium-sized companies lost 0.63 percent to 23,913 points at the start of the week. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 fell by around 0.3 percent.
Investor behavior remains cautious, not least because of fears of a further escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas. They also brake persistently high yields on the US bond market the desire to buy. The yield on trend-setting ten-year government securities in particular has a noticeable impact on valuations on the stock market, as Stephen Innes from asset manager SPI Asset Management explained.
Volkswagen with losses after slight profit warning
Among the individual stocks, the shares fell Volkswagen As the bottom of the DAX, it fell by 3.2 percent to its lowest level in three and a half years. The car company had on Friday preliminary figures for the third quarter published after the market closed and the profit target for 2023 reduced. The car manufacturer’s operating result and margin were disappointing, wrote Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois. From the perspective of JPMorgan expert Jose Asumendi, the clouded earnings outlook is not a substantial deterioration.
Dürr shares suffered from analyst ratings and continued their steep decline from Friday with minus 3.6 percent.
Varta’s titles benefited from renewed speculation about a major order from the iPhone company Apple and rose by 9.4 percent as the SDax leader. The head of the battery manufacturer, Markus Hackstein, spoke in a newspaper interview about deliveries to an important major customer “who had previously postponed the call-offs of his orders”. He did not want to say who the customer for mini headphone batteries was, but in the past Apple was considered one of Varta’s most important customers with regard to batteries for Airpods.
A more optimistic company outlook gave Atoss shares a fresh boost of 5.5 percent. The software specialist continued to increase sales and profits in the third quarter and is now confident that it will easily exceed its annual outlook, which was only raised in July.
US stock exchanges with losses
US stock markets extended their recent losses on Friday. Investors are currently concerned that the war between Israel and Hamas could escalate into a larger conflict in the Middle East. Gold, on the other hand, is increasingly in demand as a safe haven. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial fell by 0.86 percent to 33,127 points. On a weekly basis, this results in a minus of 1.61 percent. The geopolitical environment is currently fueling nervousness on the stock market.
Bitcoin back above $30,000
The digital currency Bitcoin has been hovering above the $30,000 mark for a few days for the first time since August. In November 2022, the currency was below the Impression of the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX plummeted from over $21,000 to around $16,000. A year earlier, Bitcoin reached a record high of $69,000.
Oil prices are falling – the situation in the Middle East is in focus
Oil prices fell on Monday. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in December cost $91.11 in the morning. That was $1.05 less than Friday. The price for a barrel of the US WTI variety, also for December delivery, fell by $1.18 to $86.90.
The situation in the Middle East remains the dominant topic. After a price increase last week, market observers spoke of a countermovement. Recently, diplomatic efforts and with them the hope of containing the war between the Islamist Hamas and Israel have come to the fore again.
Despite the current price decline, crude oil has become significantly more expensive due to concerns about the war spreading to other countries. Since the start of the war, the price of crude oil from the North Sea has risen by around eight percent.