Weak guidelines: DAX expected a bit weaker

After the DAX left the market a little higher on Friday, there are signs of a slight dent again at the start of trading in the new week.  The  Ifo index could provide movement in the morning.

 The  DAX is likely to miss the 14,000 point hurdle at the beginning of the week. After an increase of 0.8 percent to 13,993 points on Friday, the leading index is expected to be 0.2 percent weaker in the morning at 13,964 points. Two weeks ago the DAX had reached a record at 14,169 points. Since then, there have been no follow-up purchases and the prices have been more or less instantly.

In fact, the stock market is currently lacking fresh impulses and clear trends. Rather, the DAX is caught between contradicting corona reports, rising bond rates in the USA and the hope that the economy will pick up.  The  DAX has therefore been hovering around 14,000 points for two weeks.

Worries about rising yields in the US

Investors recently worried about the rise in yields, especially in the USA. Yields on ten-year US bonds rose to their highest level in a year. This makes bonds more attractive as an investment relative to stocks. However, experts expect that the US Federal Reserve will intervene if yields continue to rise. An increase in key interest rates is not on the agenda in either the US or Europe for the foreseeable future.

 The  futures markets are currently not expecting an initial rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) until mid-2023 at the earliest. Nevertheless, the discussion on when the Fed will reduce bond purchases has already begun, explains analyst Hartmut Preiss from DZ Bank.

On this Monday, investors should look eagerly at the business climate index of the Munich Ifo Institute. However, the bad values ​​of the past few months provide little hope.  The refore, only a slight brightening is expected. In January the index fell to 90.1 points after 92.2 points in December.  The  business climate is the most important early economic indicator for the German economy.

Relatively stable euro

 The  euro moved little at the start of the week ahead of important economic data from Germany. On Monday morning, the common currency cost 1.2120 US dollars, roughly the same as on Friday evening.

 The  European Central Bank (ECB) set the reference rate on Friday afternoon at $ 1.2139.

Conti does not pay a dividend

Due to the difficult business situation, Continental shareholders should not receive a dividend for the Corona year 2020. After examining the books, the auto supplier and tire manufacturer found a negative group result.  The refore, it will be proposed to the annual general meeting that is due at the end of April that no distribution be made. For the year before, there was still 3 euros per share, despite the red numbers. CFO Wolfgang Schäfer had already indicated last November that a turn to profit could no longer succeed.

Porsche tightens austerity program, Skoda in Egypt

 The  VW subsidiary Porsche is tightening its savings program. “In the next five years we are now planning a total of around ten billion euros to secure the result. Originally it was six billion euros,” said CEO Oliver Blume of the “Automobilwoche”.

 The  group will make decisions about Bugatti and Rimac in the first half of the year.

 The  subsidiary Skoda wants to achieve more growth by entering the market in emerging countries such as Egypt. “10,000 sales per year are not enough for a country with 100 million inhabitants. We could increase that tenfold in the medium term,” said Skoda boss Thomas Schäfer of “Automobilwoche”. In addition, Schäfer announced another electric car.

Schaeffler rejects the split

 The  automotive and industrial supplier rejects a split along the lines of Continental, Siemens or Daimler. “Separating just for the sake of separating is not a coherent concept, even if the stock market occasionally thinks something like that is great,” said Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “Schaeffler is not a conglomerate in the traditional sense, but an integrated technology group that serves various sectors,” he added.