Rising bond yields and climbing oil prices continued to weigh on the German market on Thursday. Right at the opening bell in Frankfurt, the Dax slipped below the 25,000-point threshold and hit its lowest level since the end of July in the early afternoon, briefly dropping under 24,800 points. Market expert Andreas Lipkow from the broker CMC Markets noted that as long as there is no easing in energy prices or bond yields, the willingness to engage in major stock purchases is likely to remain limited. Oil prices climbed following a media report concerning potential new United States strikes against Iran ahead of the midterm elections in the United States, while investors simultaneously worried over France's national deficit. The Dax concluded the session down 1.18 percent at 24,806.97 points. The MDax index of mid-cap equities declined by 2.01 percent to 29,506.83 points, and the EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.87 percent to 6,126.73 points. Outside the eurozone, the Swiss SMI closed weak, whereas London's FTSE 100 finished the trading day little changed.
Regarding the bond market, where the yield spread between benchmark ten-year French government bonds and German Bunds widened in October amid worsening debt conditions in France, UBS global chief investment officer Mark Haefele maintained a calm outlook. He does not view the widening spreads as an indicator of an imminent financing crisis, suggesting that investment-driven demand and improving earnings should help European equities absorb moderately higher yields. On the corporate side, strong quarterly figures from South Korean technology heavyweight Samsung failed to relieve the pressure on the technology sector, leading to further losses for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related equities domestically. Infineon shares dropped 3.4 percent, while within the MDax, Siltronic and Aixtron both fell 4.1 percent and Elmos decreased by 5.3 percent.
Within the automotive industry, suppliers showed notable weakness following a profit warning originating in France. OPMobility reduced its operational profit target for 2026 as a result of mounting costs and challenges among vehicle manufacturers. Aumovio registered as the bottom performer in the MDax with an 8.8 percent drop, and Norma Group fell 5.3 percent in the SDax. Continental performed slightly better with a 3.1 percent decline, supported by an upgrade to Outperform from Bernstein Research. Ongoing follow-on selling dragged shares of dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care further downward, resulting in a 1.9 percent loss following significant pressure the previous day from the announcement of a change at the corporate helm. Shares of Fresenius Medical Care's parent shareholder Fresenius moved down 3.9 percent on Thursday.
Within the SDax, Indus Holding marked the session's lowest performer with a 7.3 percent decrease, though those shares had reached their highest level since May 2019 roughly a week earlier, having surged as much as 65 percent from the beginning of July up to that peak. A downgrade of staple handler Jungheinrich to Underperform by Bank of America drove a 5.6 percent loss for those equities.
