FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Despite the prospect of interest rates in the USA possibly falling soon, the Dax seems to have run out of steam on Thursday. A rate cut by the Fed in September is a scenario that market participants had already considered the most likely before the Fed meeting the previous day.

A few minutes after the Xetra opening, the leading German index fell by 0.39 percent to 18,436.57 points. Analyst Jochen Stanzl from the trading firm CMC Markets spoke of a swing stock market, with investors continuing to search in vain for a direction.

The MDax index of medium-sized companies was little changed at 25,371.66 points. The Eurozone's leading index, the EuroStoxx 50, lost half a percent.

The overseas stock markets provided a mixed picture: weaker Asian markets contrasted with strong gains on the US technology stock exchange Nasdaq. In the USA, Meta's quarterly figures were also well received the evening before after the close of trading. The Facebook group is raking in billions with its advertising business - and is investing a large part of this in the expensive expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence.

The clearly positive reaction to the Fed's comments on monetary easing supports the perception that market participants had reduced risk positions before the reporting season and are now quickly ready to unwind bets on falling prices, DekaBank said.