Germany’s DAX Higher after Less Volatility Over Political Issues

Germany’s DAX was higher on Wednesday. The DAX Index closed at 9,943.23 for a gain of 53.04 points or 0.54 percent. The DAX regained some of its losses Wednesday as market trading was less volatile with political issues and debates over a U.K. exit from the European Union and Greece’s bailout having less of an affect on the market. Activity for the day was mostly focused on the Federal Reserve’s release of its April meeting minutes which are expected to provide insight into the economy in the U.S. and globally.

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Source: Google Finance.

For the day technology, food and beverages and software led shares higher. The top gainers for the day were Deutsche Bank AG, Infineon Technologies and Commerzbank AG. Deutsche Bank was higher at 14.745 for a gain of 2.32 percent or 0.335 points. Infineon Technologies gained 2.29 percent or 0.275 points to end at 12.270 and Commerzbank gained 2.28 percent or 0.160 points to close at 7.179.

Companies reporting the greatest losses were Prosiebensat 1 Media AG, RWE AG and Bay.Motoren Werke AG. Prosiebensat 1 Media AG was down 1.08 percent or 0.470 points to trade at 42.970. RWE AG was down 0.93 percent or 0.110 points to close at 11.700 and Bay.Motoren Werke AG was down 0.80 percent or 0.570 points to close at 70.990. Overall, for the day, stocks traded with less variation. The DAX Volatility Index was down 2.26 percent to 22.52.

In other European markets, France’s CAC 40 was up 21.73 points or 0.51 percent to 4,319.30. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 2.86 points or 0.85 percent to 337.58. The Europe Dow was up 4.13 points or 0.27 percent to 1,536.44.

In Asia, stocks traded mostly lower. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was down -8.11 points or -0.05 percent to 16,644.69. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down -292.39 points or -1.45 percent to 19,826.41. In India, the S&P BSE Sensex was down -69.00 points or -0.27 percent to 25,704.61 and the NSE Nifty was down -20.60 points or -0.26 percent to 7,870.15. In China, the Shanghai Composite was lower at 2,807.51 for a loss of -36.17 points or -1.27 percent. As a broad market measure, the Asia Dow was lower at 2,593.91 for a loss of -16.61 points or -0.64 percent.

In the U.S., stocks traded mostly higher on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s April meeting minutes. At mid-afternoon in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 17,628.70 for a gain of 98.72 points or 0.56 percent. The S&P 500 Index was higher at 2,059.39 for a gain of 12.18 points or 0.59 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was higher by 43.29 points or 0.92 percent at 4,759.03 and the Nasdaq 100 was higher at 4,351.57 for a gain of 29.02 points or 0.67 percent. Investors are broadly expecting the Fed to take a cautious approach to rate increases for the remainder of the year as global factors are a concern. Weakening economic data in the U.S. and globally have most investors pointing to September for the next rate increase however if reports trend positively over the next few weeks then the next rate increase could be as soon as June.