Germany’s DAX Higher as Stocks Recover from U.S. Fed Minutes Volatility

Germany’s DAX was higher on Friday. The DAX Index closed at 9,916.02 for a gain of 120.13 points or 1.23 percent. For the day, stocks mainly recovered losses from increased volatility following the increased possibility of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate increase in June. In the Fed’s minutes, market officials reported they would consider raising rates at their June meeting if economic conditions improve in the next few weeks which would mainly put currency pressures at higher risk.

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Source: Google Finance.

On Friday, stock sectors leading gains included food and beverages, media and technology. The top performers were Prosiebensat 1 Media AG, Adidas AG and Thyssenkrupp AG. Stocks reporting the greatest losses included Henkel AG & Co Kgaa Vzo, Merck KGAA and Lufthansa AG. For the day, the DAX Volatility Index was down 5.47 percent to 22.29.

Political issues were less of a concern for stocks in Germany Friday however investors are still closely watching the possibility of a U.K. exit from the European Union and deal talks with Greece over debt provisions. In discussions on Friday, European Central Bank officials also further reported that they have no intentions to make changes to deposit rates as the economy overall continues to remain in question and deposit rates are negative.

In other European markets, the FTSE 100 was higher by 102.97 points or 1.70 percent to close at 6,156.32 and the FTSE 250 was higher at 16,922.06 for a gain of 191.95 points or 1.15 percent. France’s CAC 40 was higher at 4,353.90 for a gain of 71.36 points or 1.67 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was higher at 338.01 for a gain of 4.10 points or 1.23 percent. The Europe Dow was higher at 1,525.95 for a gain of 20.12 points or 1.34 percent.

In Asia, stocks were also mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei closed at 16,736.35 for a gain of 89.69 points or 0.54 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was higher at 19,852.20 for a gain of 157.87 points or 0.80 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite was higher at 2,825.48 for a gain of 18.58 points or 0.66 percent. In India, the S&P BSE Sensex was lower at 25,301.90 for a loss of -97.82 points or -0.39 percent and the NSE Nifty was lower at 7,749.70 for a loss of -33.70 points or -0.43 percent. The Asia Dow was higher at 2,569.89 for a gain of 5.75 points or 0.22 percent.

In the U.S., the leading market indexes traded mostly higher on Friday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 65.54 points or 0.38 percent to close at 17,500.94. The S&P 500 was also higher at 2,052.32 for a gain of 12.28 points or 0.60 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was higher at 4,769.56 for a gain of 57.03 points or 1.21 percent.

Other notable U.S. index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 closing at 1,112.28 for a gain of 17.50 points or 1.60 percent; the S&P 600 closing at 680.89 for a gain of 9.92 points or 1.48 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closing at 1,450.11 for a gain of 19.01 points or 1.33 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1,208.08 for a gain of 8.93 points or 0.74 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 579.89 for a gain of 2.82 points or 0.49 percent.