German equity indices closed lower on Thursday, led by losses concentrated in the Technology, Construction and Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare sectors that pulled the market broadly into negative territory.
At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX lost 0.29%. The MDAX fell 0.58% and the TecDAX declined 0.64%.
Notable gainers and decliners
The strongest performers on the DAX were Zalando SE (ETR:ZALG), Brenntag AG (ETR:BNRGn) and BASF SE NA O.N. (ETR:BASFN). Zalando led the gains with a rise of 9.50% - up 1.91 points to finish at 22.02. Brenntag added 5.10%, or 2.38 points, to close at 49.08, while BASF gained 4.62% - up 2.14 points to 48.45.
At the other end of the DAX, Deutsche Bank AG NA O.N. (ETR:DBKGn) was the weakest, falling 5.27% - down 1.43 points to 25.70 at the close. Heidelberg Materials AG (ETR:HEIG) dropped 4.46%, sliding 7.60 points to 162.65, and Commerzbank AG O.N. (ETR:CBKG) declined 4.09% - down 1.29 points to 30.23.
On the MDAX, K+S AG (ETR:SDFGn) registered the session's largest gain, rising 14.80% to 17.84. Wacker Chemie O.N. (ETR:WCHG) climbed 9.15% to settle at 79.90, and Talanx AG NA O.N. (ETR:TLXGn) rose 4.01% to close at 106.40.
The weakest MDAX names included Thyssenkrupp AG O.N. (ETR:TKAG), which fell 8.00% to 8.30, Tui AG NA (ETR:TUI1n) which lost 4.98% to finish at 6.72, and Bilfinger SE O.N. (ETR:GBFG) which was down 4.67% to 102.10 at the close.
Within the TecDAX, SUSS MicroTec SE (ETR:SMHNn) led advancers with a 4.20% gain to 58.30, Siltronic AG (ETR:WAFGn) rose 3.85% to 54.00, and Hensoldt Ag (ETR:HAGG) added 3.15% to close at 78.60.
TecDAX laggards included Sartorius AG VZO O.N. (ETR:SATG_p), which fell 3.41% to 215.00, Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (ETR:IFXGn) which lost 3.08% to 40.27, and Elmos Semiconductor AG (ETR:ELGG) which declined 2.40% to 138.00.
Market breadth, highs and volatility
Decliners outnumbered advancers on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, with 380 stocks falling versus 230 rising; 23 shares finished unchanged. Shares in K+S AG (ETR:SDFGn) rose to 52-week highs - up 14.80% or 2.30 to 17.84. SUSS MicroTec SE (ETR:SMHNn) also reached a 52-week high, rising 4.20% or 2.35 to 58.30.
The DAX volatility index, which measures implied volatility in DAX options, rose 10.88% to 28.25.
Commodities and currencies
Commodities diverged: Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.83% - down 43.00 to $5,136.10 a troy ounce. Crude oil for April delivery rose 8.46% or 7.38 to $94.63 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract climbed 7.84% or 7.21 to trade at $99.19 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was unchanged 0.31% to 1.15, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.07% to 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.36% at 99.58.
Closing observations
Thursday's session ended with a greater number of declines than advances on the main German exchanges, led by losses within technology, construction and healthcare-related names. At the same time, selected chemicals and industrials posted strong gains, and energy-related commodities showed sharp increases in crude prices while gold retreated. Volatility as reflected by the DAX options measure moved higher.