The last few trading days were characterized in particular by the Fed's mid-week meeting and speculation surrounding the new head of the US Federal Reserve.
Moreover, geopolitical risks are anything but off the table. The combination of monetary policy uncertainties and geopolitical risks could repeatedly catch investors on the wrong foot. The reporting season in both Germany and the USA has also repeatedly provided important impetus.
DAX
Investors eagerly await decision: New Fed expected
However, investors could be caught on the wrong foot by the uncertainty surrounding the future Fed chairman. The upcoming decision on the leadership of the US Federal Reserve and its monetary policy direction remains a weighty factor. The US president wants to nominate the future Fed chairman as early as today. „It will be a person who I think will do a good job," said Trump. However, the US Senate must also approve the personnel decision. Jerome Powell's mandate will therefore expire on May 15 after around eight years. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is being touted as the new head of the US Federal Reserve.
Developments in the Middle East surrounding Iran and Greenland were also repeatedly in focus. Uncertainty about future developments is likely to occupy investors again in the coming trading week.
ifo index: „German economy starts the new year without momentum“
At 87.6 points, the ifo Business Climate Index published on Monday was below expectations (88.1 points). „The German economy is starting the new year without momentum,“ said ifo head Clemens Fuest. Around 9,000 companies are surveyed every month.
GfK consumer confidence better than expected - Fed keeps its feet still
At -24.1 points, GfK consumer confidence was slightly better than expected (-25.8 points). As expected, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) left the key interest rate unchanged at a range of 3.50% to 3.75%.
According to Powell, there is currently no reason to lower interest rates. Reference was made to the excessively high inflation rate of 2.7 percent recently. The recent stabilization of the US job market also reaffirmed the Fed's cautious monetary policy stance.
In the current year, the Fed could cut the key interest rate by a total of two steps, meaning that the interest rate range could be between 3.0 and 3.25 percent.
German gross domestic product grows more strongly than expected
Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2025, which was stronger than expected (0.2 percent), as announced by the Federal Statistical Office on Friday. Europe's largest economy thus grew by 0.2% over the year as a whole, following a contraction over the past two years. According to estimates by the German government, growth of 1.0 percent is expected for the current year.
SAP shares lose a lot of value - development in the cloud business is a burden
SAP shares (ISIN: DE0007164600) fell sharply this week, despite improved business figures. In the meantime, the shares have lost around 16% of their value to around 165 euros, their lowest level for two years.
The cloud business was primarily cited as the reason for the share price slide. The order backlog in the cloud climbed by 25 percent over the year, adjusted for currency effects. CEO Christian Klein had set targets of at least 26 percent in December.
SAP
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