FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Favorable inflation data from the United States helped the DAX post moderate gains on Friday. However, Germany's leading index remained shy of the 25,000-point mark, a threshold it repeatedly failed to surpass throughout the week.
The DAX closed up 0.25 percent at 24,914.88 points. This translates to a weekly gain of 0.78 percent. The MDAX, which tracks mid-sized German companies, rose 0.60 percent to 31,299.04 points on Friday.
In the US, inflation eased unexpectedly sharply at the start of the year. Economist Ralf Umlauf of Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) described the development as "relief on the inflation front." While he does not expect central bankers to feel immediate pressure to act, he believes expectations for rate cuts in the coming months are now supported.
According to Helaba, from a technical perspective, the DAX would only clear the way for a new record near 25,508 points if it can sustainably break through the 25,000 threshold. In addition to monetary policy prospects, current nervousness in some sectors is also being fueled by fears of competition from artificial intelligence. Analyst Christian Henke from trading house IG sees rising volatility as "a classic warning signal for the markets."/la/he
