FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Investment plans by the new Trump administration in the USA pushed the DAX above 21,300 points for the first time on Wednesday. This was the fifth time in six trading days that the leading German index had reached a record high. In the end, it rose by 1.01% to 21,254.27 points. In the still young stock market year 2025, the Dax has now already gained almost 7 percent. In the second German stock market, the MDax lagged behind the Dax at midweek, gaining 0.32% to 26,055.92 points.
ChatGPT developer OpenAI and major technology partners want to invest USD 500 billion in new data centers for artificial intelligence (AI). Initially, 100 billion dollars are to be invested in a joint venture called Stargate. President Donald Trump announced the project at the White House.
"Stargate has the potential to secure the USA's competitiveness in AI," said Axel Brosey, fund manager at asset manager Laiqon. This is also an important factor in competition with China. The Trump administration is thus setting new standards right at the start of its term in office.
One beneficiary of the billions invested in infrastructure in the USA was the electrical and energy technology group Siemens Energy. Its shares soared to a record high as the biggest winner in the DAX, closing 6.5 percent higher.
Market expert Jürgen Molnar from broker Robomarkets wrote that the announcements of billions in investments in the future topic of artificial intelligence were still compensating for Trump's simultaneous threats of punitive tariffs against almost the entire rest of the world. The price gains reflect the hope "that things will not end up as bad as feared".
Adidas ranked second in the Dax with growth of 6 percent. Analysts praised the key figures published by the sporting goods and lifestyle group the previous evening for the final quarter.
Statements by an analyst firm about potash production cuts by the Belaruskali/BPC group drove up the share prices of potash producers. In Germany, K+S gained 5.7 percent in the MDax.
In contrast, Schaeffler's key figures were poorly received: The automotive supplier and industrial group failed to meet expectations. The share price fell to its lowest level in the company's history, and at the close of trading it was a good 13 percent down in last place in the second-line index SDax. Deutsche Bank also withdrew its buy recommendation for the shares.
The share price of rail technology company Vossloh benefited from a major order from the UK, rising 6.8 percent.
The leading eurozone index EuroStoxx 50 gained 0.77 percent to 5,205.83 points. Outside the eurozone, the leading Swiss SMI index rose by 0.8 percent, while the FTSE 100 in the UK closed slightly down. In the USA, the stock markets continued to rise: the Dow Jones Industrial benchmark index gained 0.2 per cent at the European close, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose by 1.5 per cent, boosted by the AI fantasy and strong subscription growth figures from streaming provider Netflix.
The euro traded at USD 1.0418 after the Xetra close. The European Central Bank (ECB) had set the reference rate at 1.0443 (Tuesday: 1.0357) US dollars in the afternoon, putting the dollar at 0.9575 (0.9655) euros.
On the bond market, the Bund future fell by 0.14 percent to 131.77 points. The bond index Rex stagnated at 125.29 points and the current yield remained at 2.43 percent./ajx/he
--- By Achim Jüngling, dpa-AFX ---