Vienna Stock Exchange: ATX rises despite nervousness in the Middle East conflict!

Vienna Stock Exchange: ATX rises despite nervousness in the Middle East conflict!

The Vienna Stock Exchange showed positive signs on Friday. The leading index ATX recovered by 0.62 percent to 4,334.65 points. Despite this positive daily balance, the weekly outlook is characterized by a slight decline of 0.5 percent t online reported.

The mood on the financial markets remains tense, mainly due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. A meeting of the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Great Britain with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Geneva was also reported, which served to assess the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. There is speculation that the USA could make a decision about possible intervention in the conflict within the next two weeks, which is further unsettling market participants.

Market development and strongest values

Although the ATX rose on Friday, investors' nervousness remained noticeable. However, construction stocks were unable to keep up and in some cases recorded significant declines. Porr shares fell by 2.6 percent, Strabag by 0.4 percent, Semperit by 2.6 percent and RHI Magnesita by 2.4 percent. On the other hand, there were positive departures: FACC conquered the prime market with an increase of 7.3 percent, followed by Lenzing with +4.6 percent, Agrana with +3.9 percent and Voestalpine with +2.6 percent, as boerse express explained.

The banks are also proving robust and were able to record gains, although these were below their all-time highs. BAWAG rose by 1 percent, Erste Group increased by 0.3 percent and Raiffeisen Bank International recorded an increase of 0.2 percent.

International market links

The unrest in the Middle East does not seem to have a direct impact on the stock markets so far, at least not to a dramatic extent. As the daily news notes, investor nervousness remains high, especially in light of possible military actions by Israel against Iran. The DAX in Germany closed 0.25 percent lower on Friday, while US indices posted minor gains - the Dow Jones closed at 42,196 points, a slight gain of 0.1 percent.

Although events in the Middle East have the markets in their grip, there has been no panicked flight to “safe havens” such as gold or oil. The price of crude oil even fell slightly, due to rising crude oil inventories in the USA. In the MDAX in particular, travel stocks such as TUI, Fraport and Lufthansa suffered from the tense situation.

It remains to be seen in the coming days how the market will develop and whether international tensions will cause even deeper waves. Until then, the Vienna Stock Exchange will remain a place of hope, even if the signs are not always euphoric.