FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The German stock market suffered further losses on Thursday. Fears of an escalation of the new Middle East war ultimately caused the DAX to fall by 1.12 percent to 23,057.38 points. The leading index thus continued the downward trend that began just under two weeks ago and came dangerously close to the 50-day line, which is important for the short to medium-term trend. The 21-day support level, which is significant in the short term, had already fallen in the wake of the recent losses. The MDax index of medium-sized companies fell by 1.90 percent to 29,120.07 points. There was no impetus from the US stock exchanges, which were closed for a public holiday.
"The stock markets are waiting in a tense state of alert for political developments in the war between Israel and Iran," according to the latest edition of the stock market newsletter "Fuchskapital." "The question hanging over everything is whether the US will actively intervene in the war with troops." The authors referred to the deployment of US tanker aircraft and warships to the crisis region.
Monetary policy decisions in Washington and Europe had little impact on stock prices. As expected, the US Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday evening. It thus once again defied President Donald Trump's calls for a significant cut. In addition, America's monetary policymakers consider rising inflation and a slowdown in growth to be likely due to Trump's tariff policy. However, they continue to signal two interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
Share prices also remained under pressure in Europe on Thursday. The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index for the eurozone, closed 1.3 percent lower. The declines were somewhat more moderate in Zurich and London.
At the end of trading on the DAX, shares in online retailer Zalando continued their recent downward trend, falling 4.4 percent. Traders and analysts had recently highlighted increasing uncertainty about the development of private consumption in Germany in the second half of the year and the consequences for consumer stocks.
Cyclical technology stocks also remained under pressure across the board. In the DAX, SAP fell 2.1 percent. In the MDAX, Nemetschek lost 4.1 percent. US bank JPMorgan continues to recommend an "underweight" rating for the construction software specialist.
In contrast, MTU posted a slight gain after setting a new record high, securing one of the top spots on the DAX. Christophe Menard of Deutsche Bank Research recommended the shares as a new buy. In addition, the engine manufacturer reported record orders at the ongoing aviation trade fair in Paris.
Medios shares, which had recently reached their lowest level since April, recovered and closed 7.3 percent higher. The specialty pharmaceutical company announced after the close of trading yesterday evening that it intends to buy back one million of its own shares.
Deutsche Euroshop was the front-runner in the SDax small-cap index. The shopping center investor wants to pay its investors a significantly higher dividend. The company justified the move by saying that it had received additional funds from ongoing operations and the issue of a bond. The share price rose by 9 percent./gl/he
--- By Gerold Lohle, dpa-AFX ---
