market report
Good numbers from several DAX companies have helped the German stock market continue to rise. Support also came from New York, where the leading Dow Jones index hit a new record.
The German stock market has accelerated its recovery recently. The main DAX index jumped 1.22 percent to 24,381 points mid-week. Well-received quarterly reports from several DAX companies also help.
This means that concerns about overvaluation of technology companies are fading again. Even an initial test of the record high of 24,771 points is once again within the realm of possibility.
Most importantly, investors hope that the longest government shutdown in US history will end soon and that Democrats and Republicans will reach a deal that night. In the afternoon, the DPR will discuss the interim budget. If the US House of Representatives agrees, all that would be needed is the signature of the US President to end the longest government shutdown in US history.
There will then be more economic data from the US – which in turn will provide markets with further information regarding the future direction of US Federal Reserve policy.
“The market reacted with relief to the predictable end of the shutdown. This will be a real start to the strongest stock market phase of the year, which usually starts in November,” explained Christoph Mertens, stock expert at Fürst Fugger Privatbank. “Statistics show that the market was in double-digit growth through the end of October followed by two months above average.” These conditions will be met by 2025, Mertens said.
After gains since Friday’s lows, a pullback to normal prices can now be expected at any time, stressed ING expert Christian Zoller. However, this will not change the overall upward trend. “Initially, we expected further price increases on the DAX,” Zoller said.
Investors in the US stock market are once again favoring default rates. The Dow Jones set another record after a pause of several days. In early trading it rose 0.75 percent to 48,286.20 points, surpassing the previous record of 48,040 points at the end of October. The focus remains on the end of the shutdown which is expected to kick off the current market recovery early in the week.
In contrast, technology shares on the Nasdaq have fallen slightly into the red zone so far this year. Skepticism towards valuations that are too high is still visible here. The AI investment boom continues: OpenAI rival Anthropic announced the construction of a new data center for artificial intelligence worth $50 billion. The AI ”Claude” developed by Anthropic is considered one of the world’s leading.
The euro traded 0.06 percent higher at $1.1593 in the afternoon. The annual report of the “Economists” only has a temporary impact on the common currency. The Expert Council revised its expectations for 2026 slightly down and now expects gross domestic product to grow by 0.9 percent. In the spring, economists predicted an increase of 1.0 percent in 2026.
Economists assume that the billions of dollars in special funds currently planned for infrastructure and climate neutrality will have only a small positive impact on gross domestic product – as they have so far been largely used to finance consumer spending. For this year they slightly raised their growth forecast to 0.2 percent.
Oil prices fell significantly in the raw materials market. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent fell 3.6 percent to $62.74. Gold prices fell 0.2 percent to $4,133 per troy ounce.
The OPEC oil cartel continued to forecast more growth in global crude oil demand in its monthly report. They forecast an increase of 1.4 million barrels per day next year. This year, the oil cartel only estimates an increase of 1.3 million barrels per day.
The OPEC+ oil network consisting of cartel countries and other important producing countries, including Russia, has increased production several times in recent months. Most recently, OPEC+ decided at the beginning of the month to increase production by 137,000 barrels per day starting in December. However, the increase in production had to be stopped.
Higher production volumes are hitting a market that experts say is already headed for surplus. The International Energy Agency (IEA), as an organization of industrialized countries that is in a sense an opponent of OPEC, has predicted an oversupply in the oil market.
On the other hand, gold prices rose significantly in the afternoon. A troy ounce is currently priced at $4.191, which is 1.2 percent higher than on Tuesday evening.
During the reporting season in the country, several DAX companies are back in focus. The biggest price gainer was RWE stock with a gain of more than eight percent. Germany’s largest electricity producer posted higher-than-expected profits in the first nine months of the year. Infineon shares rose more than six percent. Chipmakers are seeing a growth boost from AI data centers. Brenntag shares are also in high demand – the chemicals trader is fighting a tough market situation by cutting costs.
Bayer shares rose more than six percent. The pharmaceutical and agriculture groups positively surprised investors with adjusted operating results (Ebitda) in the third quarter. However, shares of energy company E.ON fell more than three percent according to quarterly figures.
Travel group TUI improved its operating results more than expected in the 2024/25 financial year thanks to good results from hotels and cruises. MDAX Group announced based on preliminary figures that adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 12.6 percent compared to the previous year to 1.46 billion euros. TUI estimates an increase of nine to eleven percent. The Hotels & Resorts and Cruise Lines segments achieved record results. Sales increased by 4.4 percent to 24.2 billion euros in the fiscal year ended in September. Therefore, growth is below the annual target of five to ten percent.
On MDAX, Aixtron shares hit another yearly high at 18.94 euros following a buy recommendation from Bank of America. Analyst Oliver Wong is banking on “AI acceleration.” The newspaper gained 40 percent in about two weeks.
