Record run on the German stock exchange – DAX exceeds 18,000 points for the first time

On the German stock exchange, the leading index DAX exceeded the 18,000 point mark for the first time. After the opening of the stock market on Wednesday, the DAX rose to 18,001.42 points.

Euphoria has recently spread across the stock markets. In a record run, the Dax recently reached new highs almost every day. Although the German economy is weakening, the 40 companies in the DAX are positioned globally and do a large part of their business abroad, where the economy is stronger than in the home market – for example in the US.

Recently, strong US stock markets, benefiting from a robust US economy and hype about artificial intelligence, have lifted the German stock market. The reporting season, in which major companies present their operating figures, also provides an impetus to rising prices.

Hope for interest rate cuts

The prospect of eurozone inflation falling faster than expected also boosted the German stock market. This means that the first interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) is getting closer.

For the current year, the central bank expects inflation of 2.3 percent; in her forecast presented in December she had assumed 2.7 percent. Key interest rates could fall in June, as ECB President Christine Lagarde recently indicated in Frankfurt.

Low interest rates traditionally drive stock prices, as alternative safe investments become less attractive. But experts also repeatedly warn against carelessness and the risk of a correction. The Dax is now “overbought”. The mood remains positive and at this point it is enough if there are no major negative surprises, such as US inflation, to drive the market further higher. (rbu/sda/awp/dpa)