Bulls and bears went toe to toe here in Germany and in the USA. On the one hand, further record highs are tempting, but on the other, the risks of an overdue correction remain in the back of our minds. The market has recently lacked the strength for a decisive upward breakout, which is making investors nervous. The last few trading days were characterized in particular by concerns about the bursting of the AI bubble. The reporting season has also repeatedly provided impetus, at least in Frankfurt am Main.
DAX
Interest rate cut fantasies remain clouded - investors reassess opportunities
Concerns about dampening interest rate cut expectations in the United States have caught up with investors again. Despite the latest interest rate cut of 25 basis points in the US, the prospect of a further cut of a quarter of a percentage point remains subdued. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell failed to make a clear commitment to such a move at the Fed's most recent meeting. According to the CME Group's „Fed Watch Tool“, there is currently only a 67.1% chance of a rate cut of 25 basis points at the December meeting. In contrast, 32.9 percent are in favor of a pause in interest rates.
Concerns about the bursting of a possible „AI bubble“ and ambitious price levels have also made investors more cautious again this week.
ISM manufacturing index below expectations - ADP employment data better than expected
At 48.7 points, the ISM manufacturing index was weaker than expected (49.5 points), following 49.1 points in the previous month.
The so-called ADP employment data provided important indications of the state of the US job market. At 42,000 units, these were above estimates (32,000), after -32,000 units in the previous month (revised: -29,000 units).
The counterpart for the services sector (ISM-PMI), however, was able to exceed expectations (50.8 points) with 52.4 units on Wednesday afternoon, after 50 points previously.
Last but not least, investors should pay attention to preliminary consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan this afternoon (16:00).
Continental reports million-euro loss in summer quarter
On Thursday, the focus was on the figures for the past financial quarter of Continental (ISIN: DE0005439004). Chief Financial Officer Roland Welzbacher told the news agency Reuters that it was still unclear how the global economy would develop. „But at some point we have to get out of the valley again,“ he said.
In the summer quarter, the Hanover-based company reported a loss of 756 million euros, following a profit of 485 million euros a year ago.
Continental
