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A dull stock market year: New York Stock Exchange at the end of 2022
Photo: Lev Radin / imago images / Pacific Press Agency
Investors in the stock market are still holding back for fear of the corona situation after the recent easing in China.
The German leading index Dax was 0.3 percent lower at 13,890 points when it opened on Thursday, but turned positive again by late morning and recently climbed back above the 14,000 point mark.
With the attempt to recover, the Dax reacts to the US futures, which indicate a positive start to trading in the USA.
However, sales at the end of the year are very low.
Most investors have already closed their books for 2022.
A year-end rally in 2022 is no longer to be expected, the Dax should continue to bobble around the 14,000 point mark.
Since the beginning of the year, the Dax has lost more than 12 percent in value.
Chinese are allowed to travel again
China is also a concern for investors.
The rapidly increasing corona numbers in combination with the now relaxed travel conditions would pose an incalculable risk, they say.
On the other hand, the easing is also a prerequisite for a recovery of the Chinese economy.
Actually, commented Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at SPI Asset Management, China's opening up after three years of state-imposed isolation should be a boon for the global economy.
This should avert a deep recession and improve the mood for many financial investments after a tough year.
Telecom stocks under pressure
Among the individual values, shares in telecom companies weakened.
Especially those from 1&1 dropped by 1.8 percent.
United Internet, Telefonica Germany and the T-Share gave way between 0.3 and 0.7 percent.
The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on an internal document from Deutsche Telekom, according to which the auction of mobile frequencies in 2024 could be "extremely expensive" for the network operators, since 1&1 will be added as a bidder.
This auction could possibly become the most expensive bidding process since the UMTS award in 2000, which cost 51 billion euros at the time.
According to a dealer, "the story is not new and has been hanging over the smaller auction participants like the sword of Damocles for months".
Sartorius optimistic
Bucking the trend, Sartorius posted slight gains.
According to the laboratory supplier, its growth plans are progressing faster.
The group is currently about two years ahead of its own plan, said company boss Joachim Kreuzburg of the German Press Agency.
2022 was the third year of an intensive growth phase, said Kreuzburg.
"It was a very successful phase."
After a strong increase in 2020 and 2021, double-digit growth was again achieved in 2022.
Compared to the two previous years, in which sales were also boosted by the pandemic, a "normalization" can be felt.
Customers are hoarding less inventory because supply chain problems have decreased.
US recovery attempt, Tesla stock post gains
The recently weak US stock markets showed signs of recovery on Thursday.
Similar to Europe, the fear of a renewed global spread of the corona virus seems to be limited in view of the rapidly increasing number of infections in China.
In addition, an expected increase in weekly initial US jobless claims was enough to support prices.
Overall, however, trading between the years has continued without any major drivers, many investors are on vacation and erratic price movements could occur with rather low trading volumes.
At the start of trading, the leading US index
Dow Jones Industrial
was up 0.6 percent to 33,075 points and the technology-heavy selection index
Nasdaq 100
was up 1.2 percent to 10,808 points.
Despite the increase, the level of aid applications indicates that the labor market will remain robust.
However, the fact that the increase was only as expected did not fuel fears of a tightening of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening course.
The currency guardians orientate themselves strongly towards the development of the labor market.
Tesla
shares
followed on from the previous day's stabilization with price gains of more than six percent on Thursday.
Before that, the shares of the electric car manufacturer had fallen seven trading days in a row.
Since the beginning of the year, the price decline has totaled 68 percent, making Tesla one of the biggest losers in the Nasdaq 100 in 2022.
In addition to a letter from Elon Musk to Tesla employees, the reason for the attempt to recover is also state subsidies.
With the
promotion of certain electric vehicles from domestic production that will come into force in the USA in 2023
, the vehicle industry as a whole could once again become the focus of investors shortly before the turn of the year.
The subsidies are part of US President Joe Biden's anti-inflation law, which, among other things, provides for billions in investments in climate and environmental protection.
The titles of the smaller competitor Rivian, which had recently been hit even worse than Tesla, rose by more than three percent before the start of trading.
With the iPhone manufacturer Apple and the airline Southwest Airlines, two losers from the previous day are also waving profits, as the pre-market price premiums of one and a half percent show.
Apple's stocks slipped to their lowest level since mid-2021 on Wednesday and Southwest's plummeted for the second day in a row due to flight cancellations and delays.
Bitcoin still below 17,000
The world's best-known digital currency, Bitcoin, has continued to soar and was last listed at 15,740 US dollars on the Bitstamp trading platform at midday.
The cryptocurrency has been under pressure since the beginning of the year.
Bitcoin hit a record high of $69,000 in November last year.
Oil prices continue to fall - despite Putin's ban on sales
Oil prices fell further on Thursday.
A barrel (159 liters) of the North Sea Brent cost 82.83 US dollars in the morning.
That was 43 cents less than the day before.
The price of a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grade fell 47 cents to $78.49.
Oil prices had already fallen the day before, with a generally gloomy mood on the financial markets dragging down prices on the oil market.
Concerns about the rapidly increasing Covid infections in China dampened investors' willingness to take risks and caused price losses on the leading Asian stock exchanges in the morning.
On the oil market, the increase in corona infections in China is also dampening optimism for better economic development and the associated greater demand for crude oil, according to market observers.
Meanwhile, oil prices have fallen for two trading days in a row, although Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Tuesday banning the sale of oil to countries that have decided on a price cap on the commodity.
The ban comes into effect on February 1.
With news agencies
