After the record: DAX earnings are crumbling

The first euphoria of relaxation has now subsided in the German stock market. However: The mood remains expectant after the morning record.

The DAX failed to defend its record of 14,197 points in the afternoon and fell again. However, it continues to hold its position above the 14,000 point mark and is therefore still slightly above it.

In the morning, the prospect of further relaxation of the crown in this country had sparked a new imagination and fueled the index. Chancellor Merkel, under great pressure, came out in favor of a “cautious opening” in the run-up to today’s consultations with the prime minister.

“The market assumes that the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns are behind us,” said financial markets expert Thomas Dorner of wealth manager Aberdeen Standard. “We are focused on the positive effects of vaccines and on reopening the economy.”

However, some nervousness persists in the stock market. Because the effects of crown mutants, which are much more contagious, remain a great unknown. Not least for this reason, politicians keep open the option of an “emergency brake” by opening the door if the number of infections increases again.

Car titles are buzzing in the DAX

Shares of VW, Daimler, BMW and Conti continue to post significant premiums of sometimes more than four percent in the index. Hopes for a quick economic recovery play a role here, and there were positive comments from analysts as well. The Delivery Hero stock currently sits at the bottom of the DAX. Investors take the profits as winners of the crisis.

Wall Street opened cautiously

Meanwhile, there is not much tailwind from New York. With the exception of the leading Dow Jones index, which is slightly higher, the major stock indices are opening moderately in the red. On the Nasdaq, it is a half percent lower.

ADP numbers disappoint

The crux of the main street recovery scenario continues to be the labor market. His recovery remains slow, as the latest figures from the private employment agency ADP show. American companies created far fewer jobs than expected in February. The conclusion was that only 117,000 jobs were created in the private sector. Experts, on the other hand, expected an increase of 177,000. According to revised figures, the increase in jobs in January was 195,000.

“The rise in employment continues, albeit at a slower pace than in January,” said economist Patrick Boldt of Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba). “It should be noted, however, that compared to before the crisis there are still millions of jobs missing. Therefore, it will be a long time before we can speak of normalcy,” added the Helaba expert.

Volatile euro

The common currency initially rallied against the dollar, but then fell again. The euro is currently trading around 0.3 percent weaker at $ 1.2053. By morning, the euro had risen to $ 1.2113. According to the report, the ECB does not want to use “drastic” means to counteract the recent increase in market interest rates. Rather, you want to try verbal interventions or adjustments to bond purchase programs. Bloomberg is referring to ECB officials. Presumably, a relaxation of monetary policy would weigh on the euro.

Service providers in the dent

The business of German service providers, which are particularly affected by the lockdown, contracted in February for the fifth consecutive month. The purchasing managers index fell 1.0 to 45.7 points, as the IHS Markit institute announced on Wednesday for its monthly survey of companies. The barometer thus remained well below the 50 mark, from which it indicates growth. However, the shrinkage was comparatively small compared to the first crown lock last spring.

Allianz gets a black eye in Germany

Allianz survived the Corona 2020 year in the German domestic market with injuries. Profit tumbled 15 percent to almost € 1.7 billion, as the company announced at Unterföhring on Wednesday. One reason for this was the high crown-related costs in the major property insurance line, a considerable portion of which was due to business closings. Sales fell 2.8 percent to 40.8 billion euros.

Aside from the crown-related damage, the pandemic was felt in another respect: In life insurance, premium income and new business fell. Allianz attributed this to the reluctance of customers in times of crisis. But both life insurance and private health insurance, as the smallest of the three lines, reported even better results than in the previous year despite the pandemic. Allianz Deutschland expects sales to pick up again this year. Germany remains the most important market for the Munich group.

Siemens Energy before the DAX surge?

Deutsche Börse will periodically review the DAX on Wednesday night for the first time this year. So far, a regular review has only been done once a year in September. Energy company Siemens Energy now has the opportunity to move up to the leading index.

Im Chip-Boom Dialog

Chip developer Dialog Semiconductor made significant gains in the fourth quarter on high demand. Among other things, the company benefited from high demand for semiconductors for headphones, fitness trackers, digital watches, laptops, and tablets. Sales increased 15 percent to approximately $ 439 million. Adjusted operating income increased 21 percent to $ 110.5 million, slightly above analyst expectations. The bottom line is that Dialog Semiconductor made $ 57.8 million, up 29 percent.

Buy pharmacy in the black zero

The participation of the online provider Shop Apotheke is clearly in the red. In 2020, the company exceeded its annual targets, which had been raised multiple times. The increase in sales was 38 percent to 968 million euros, the operating result was minus 0.9 million euros after a loss of 33.4 million euros in 2019. The net loss was 16.8 million euros, less than half the loss of the previous year. However, the outlook is a bit disappointing: in the current year, sales are expected to increase by around 20 percent and the operating return on sales to rise from 2.3 to 2.8 percent.

Pharma business supports Kuehne + Nagel

Thanks to a strong pharmaceutical business and increased demand in the second half of the year, the Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel closed last year with only slight losses in sales and profits. Net sales fell 3.4 percent to 20.4 billion Swiss francs and the bottom line was a slightly lower net result of 789 million Swiss francs. Shareholders will receive a dividend of CHF 4.50 per share, CHF 0.50 more than last year. The company did not provide a forecast.

Bremer Greensill Bank has an eye on oversight

The turmoil at the British-Australian group Greensill has also called on German financial regulator BaFin to the plan. Reuters reports that they have already appointed a special representative at Bremer Greensill Bank some time ago. He supervises the day to day of the institute. The financial supervisory authority has been scrutinizing Greensill Bank, which has grown rapidly in recent years and is closely intertwined with the beleaguered Greensill Group, with a special audit since the summer.