FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Slow start on the German stock market: On the last trading day before Christmas, the price swings were initially manageable. The Dax quickly curbed its opening gains and was last up 0.10 percent at 13,928.16 points. The MDax of medium-sized companies fared somewhat better, gaining 0.42 percent to 25 212.14 points. The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index for the euro zone, was almost flat, down slightly.
Since the middle of the month, the German benchmark index has now been struggling to clear the psychologically important hurdle at 14,000 points. Disappointment at the prospect of a prolonged cycle of interest rate hikes in Europe and the USA initially put an abrupt end to the rally that had begun after the low for the year at the end of September. Another bitter pill for the market this week were the first signals from the Japanese central bank regarding a possible tightening of monetary policy.
After strong price fluctuations in recent trading days, the Dax is up 0.3 percent for the week in view of the current price gains. It is impressive how robust the leading index is currently, stressed stock market observer Thomas Altmann from asset manager QC Partners. The most important German stock market barometer has outperformed the major Wall Street indices this month, for example.
And with a minus of a good twelve percent since the beginning of the year, the Dax also cuts a better figure in comparison with the S&P 500, which has lost almost a fifth of its value. However, the S&P had also clearly outperformed the Dax over the past three years.
In the course of trading, attention will turn to the U.S., where further important data on the U.S. economy are due. On the previous day, robust economic indicators on Wall Street had once again fueled fears of rising interest rates.
In Germany, Merck shares recently rose 0.8 percent and were among the Dax favorites - the pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals group had previously announced an antibody cooperation and licensing agreement with the U.S. company Mersana Therapeutics.
Shares in tire manufacturer and automotive supplier Continental were at the top of the index, up 1.3 percent, closely followed by shares in dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care (FMC), up 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, TAG Immobilien shares, which have been hard hit this year, benefited from a positive analyst report - they rose by almost four percent. While the macroeconomic picture with rising interest rates is likely to prevail for some time, the real estate group's operating momentum should remain stable, wrote Berenberg analyst Kai Klose. He stuck to his buy recommendation also due to the high share price losses of almost 75 percent since the turn of the year.
Uniper shares slid 1.6 percent on their last day of trading on the SDax. The utility, which has since been nationalized, has to leave the index of smaller stocks because its free float has fallen below the necessary threshold of ten percent. The state holds just under 99 percent of Uniper. The vacancy will be filled after Christmas by fuel cell manufacturer SFC Energy, whose share price was recently 0.8 percent higher./tav/jha/
