FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Deutsche Börse once again defied the ongoing market weakness on Tuesday, climbing by 2.5 percent. Since Monday, the stock has gained nearly 3 percent, while the DAX has dropped by 5.7 percent. This means Deutsche Börse shares have outperformed Germany's leading index by almost 9 percentage points over two trading days.
The exchange operator is likely benefiting from the sharp rise in market volatility. The primary focus is the soaring gas price due to the war in Iran. As the operator of the energy exchange EEX, Deutsche Börse is expected to profit from the enormous fluctuations in gas prices as well as increased trading volumes. On the previous day, the gas price surged by around 40 percent and extended its gains by another 20 percent on Tuesday.
However, the turmoil is also significant in equity and bond trading, prompting investors to take action in both Xetra trading and at the derivatives exchange Eurex. On the previous day, more than 48,000 contracts were traded in the March DAX contract, far above usual levels. This marked the second-highest daily volume since the contract's inception. The March Bund-Future contract set a new record on Monday with around 2.8 million futures traded since the start of its term.
Tuesday also saw a buy recommendation from investment bank Jefferies. Analyst Tom Mills likewise cited the rise in gas prices, calling the stock "one of the better hedges against volatility among EU financial stocks." Recently, cold weather combined with low gas storage levels has triggered particularly wild swings in European gas markets.
"Ongoing geopolitical tensions are amplifying this effect," Mills noted. Deutsche Börse benefits from this through its subsidiary EEX, which accounts for about 10 percent of Deutsche Börse's revenue. The share of revenue from Eurex is twice as high, at 20 percent, according to the expert.
Economic risks combined with seasonal effects are also likely to drive revenues in this market segment. For example, average daily volumes at Eurex in March are 30 percent higher than the average for the first quarter./bek/gl/mis
