The German leading index climbed - led by a roughly 16 percent price gain at Zalando - at the peak by 0.5 percent to a new record of 20,675.08 points. Since the beginning of the week, it has already gained more than two percent. After the recent weaker US core inflation, hopes of a rate cut have returned to the trading floor, said Jochen Stanzl of CMC Markets. However, Jürgen Molnar of RoboMarkets urged caution: "It remains to be seen how the first sounds from the White House are then received by investors." The mood could quickly turn in the other direction again.
The Republican Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as US President on Monday, is causing uncertainty among investors, mainly due to his threats of imposing tariffs. These could hit Germany, an export nation, particularly hard, says Felix Schmidt, an economist at Berenberg. In addition, Trump's tariff plans, like his agenda for loosening fiscal policy, are likely to drive up inflation and severely restrict the scope for further interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. In the extreme case, it could even lead to an interest rate hike, says Schmidt. The US dollar index, which has risen sharply in recent months, was little changed at 109.07 just days before Trump's inauguration. The euro was also flat at just under 1.03 dollars.
ZALANDO CAUSES SHARE PRICE EXPLOSION
Among the individual stocks, Zalando sparked a price fireworks in the Dax. Thanks to a strong fourth quarter with high customer growth, the online fashion retailer generated an operating profit in 2024 that exceeded expectations. "We see the figures as a strong sign that Zalando is able to deliver or even exceed its promises in what is a challenging environment for fashion retail as a whole," said analyst Volker Bosse of Baader Helvea.
European chip stocks also rose significantly after TSMC's record quarterly profit. Infineon gained up to 2.8 percent, while BE Semiconductor and ASML stocks climbed by as much as seven and almost five percent at times. The European sector index advanced by 2.2 percent at its peak. The rapid sales of high-performance semiconductors for artificial intelligence (AI) made TSMC optimistic. The shares of the world's largest chip contract manufacturer from Taiwan, which are listed in Frankfurt, rose by up to 8.2 percent.
LUXURY STOCKS SHINE AFTER RICHEMONT FIGURES
Thanks to record sales during the Christmas quarter, optimism also spread in the luxury goods industry. The acceleration in sales at Cartier jewelry maker Richemont could be an indication that the Christmas business was generally stronger than expected, analysts at JP Morgan wrote in a commentary. The luxury sector has recently been struggling with the weakest growth rates in years. Richemont's shares jumped by up to 18.3 percent to a record high, while the watchmaker Swatch Group's shares rose by almost ten percent. Kering, the owner of LVMH and Gucci, climbed by more than seven percent, while the shares of Birkin bag maker Hermes rose by five percent.
On the oil market, investors took a break after the latest price rally. Brent North Sea oil and WTI US oil each fell by 0.5 percent to 81.60 and 79.66 dollars per barrel respectively. The price was thus within reach of its five-and-a-half-month high reached on Wednesday. Fears of supply bottlenecks in the face of tougher US sanctions against Russian oil producers and tankers had recently pushed up the price of oil.
(Report by: Daniela Pegna, assisted by Anika Ross, edited by Ralf Banser. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)