On the German stock market, investors initially lacked the willingness to buy on Monday. After three quarters of an hour in Xetra trading, the leading German index, the Dax, was down 0.04 percent to 15,874.63 points, hardly changed. The MDax of medium-sized stocks was 0.33 percent higher at 27,835.02 points. The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.2 percent.
On the economic side, impetus could come from the Ifo index in the morning. The economists at Helaba assume that the German sentiment barometer will be able to maintain its level. “Economic momentum in Germany will probably remain weak for the time being. At least a recession should be avoided and we expect a gradual recovery over the course of the year.” According to the experts, the Ifo index should not stand in the way of rising prices on the German stock market.
At the beginning of the week, shares of companies from the SDax small-cap index were particularly in focus on the market, above all Darmstadt-based Software AG. The technology investment company Silver Lake wants to take it over and is offering shareholders 30 euros per share. Silver Lake, the company would be worth 2.2 billion euros. Software AG shares soared by 50 percent to almost 30 euros in the morning.
The steel manufacturer Salzgitter started the current year better than expected, but only confirmed the targets for the current year. “Regardless of the strong start to the year, we are sticking to our sales and earnings forecast of March 27 due to the politically and economically volatile environment.” Most recently, the shares fell by 2.2 percent.
SGL Carbon went up 4.4 percent. The carbon specialist’s stocks benefited from a buy recommendation from Berenberg Bank. The silicon carbide-related business is driving profitability, according to analyst Thomas Junghanns.
The shares in Elmos Semiconductor, which have been very weak for days, fell to their lowest level since the end of February after Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking canceled their buy recommendation and most recently lost 6.2 percent.
In the Dax, Siemens Healthineers climbed to the top with a plus of 1.7 percent. High price gains at Philips left their mark. The Dutch medical technology group did unexpectedly well in day-to-day business in the first quarter. (dpa)