Dax stock market plunges, Bitcoin continues its downward slide, FMC posts losses despite good figures, Elmos soars

Investors are taking money off the table: The DAX came under pressure on Tuesday. The German benchmark index was last down 1.6 percent at 23,751 points. This means the positive start to the week, following the previous period of weakness, proved to be a flash in the pan. Nervousness is growing among investors: Firstly , the risks in the US credit market are increasing following the First Brands bankruptcy , and secondly, some market participants have expressed doubts that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again in December.

The MDax index of medium-sized companies even fell by 2 percent to 29,307.3 points, and its eurozone counterpart, the EuroStoxx 50, declined by 1.3 percent. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin also continued its downward slide. Bitcoin has now lost more than 10 percent of its value in the past five trading days.

On Monday, the DAX had already bounced off the 21-day moving average, which is important for short-term trends, and only managed to hold onto some of its gains. Now, new news about the important chip manufacturer Nexperia , which belongs to the Chinese company Wingtech , is weighing on sentiment.

After the Netherlands took control of Nexperia at the end of September, China halted exports of chips from Nexperia's factories in China. At the beginning of the week, there were signs of de-escalation in the conflict. However, China has now called on the Netherlands to cease its interference in the company's internal affairs and find a constructive solution to the dispute.

After a quiet start to the week, numerous German companies presented their quarterly figures and outlooks on Tuesday. Shares of Fresenius Medical Care (FMC), the worst performer in the DAX index, fell by 6.1 percent. Although the dialysis provider exceeded expectations despite its continued weak US business, JPMorgan analyst David Adlington had warned beforehand that any positive share price reaction could quickly evaporate due to expectations of further share placements by the parent company, Fresenius. Furthermore, the shares had performed significantly better than those of its US competitor , DaVita, since the beginning of September.

The new developments from China caused share price declines of more than 2 percent at chip manufacturer Infineon and chip industry equipment supplier Aixtron . However, Aixtron's shares had also risen sharply the previous day. In contrast, Elmos shares climbed 9.3 percent, making them the undisputed leader in the small-cap index SDax . Infineon's industry peer impressed investors with an increased target for free cash flow (FCF).

At index neighbor Schaeffler, a deeper slide into negative territory resulted in a decline of 5.2 percent. The automotive and industrial supplier had to make impairment charges primarily due to a software update .

US stock markets had a mixed start to November. While the Dow Jones declined on Wall Street, technology stocks on the Nasdaq – driven by the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) – continued their upward trend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.5 percent lower at 47,336.7 points on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 6,852 points. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.4 percent to 25,973 points, bringing the tech-heavy index closer to its record high of 26,182 points from the previous week.

ChatGPT developer OpenAI signed a deal with Amazon's cloud subsidiary AWS in its search for more computing power for its AI offering. The $38 billion deal grants OpenAI access for an initial period of seven years to "hundreds of thousands" of chip systems from semiconductor company Nvidia , specifically designed for running artificial intelligence. Amazon 's shares reached a record high and ultimately closed up 4 percent.

Nvidia shares rose 2.2 percent to $206.90. This followed an analyst report at Loop Capital Markets raising their price target for the semiconductor company's stock to $350, which would equate to a market capitalization of more than $8.5 trillion. Nvidia recently became the first company in the world to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion.

Microsoft has entered into a partnership with Australian data center provider Iren . As part of the deal, the software giant is purchasing $9.7 billion worth of cloud capacity. Iren shares traded in the United States jumped 11.5 percent, while Microsoft shares fell 0.2 percent.

US pharmaceutical company Lilly plans to build a new $3 billion plant in the Netherlands. The facility, located in the coastal town of Katwijk, will produce orally administered medications and create 500 new jobs. Lilly's stock rose by 3.9 percent.

In the small-cap sector, shares of hygiene product manufacturer Kimberly-Clark fell by 14.5 percent. A takeover bid for consumer health specialist Kenvue , whose shares jumped by more than 12 percent, was blamed for the decline. In September, US PresidentDonald Trump (79) warned pregnant women against taking the acetaminophen drug Tylenol due to alleged risks of autism. Kenvue emphasized that there is no proven link between autism and taking the drug it manufactures. Experts also contradicted Trump's claims.

Shares of Beyond Meat fell by 16 percent after the meat substitute manufacturer postponed the release of its third quarter figures until November 11.

Bitcoin fell by more than 4 percent and dropped below the $104,000 mark. Within four weeks, Bitcoin has already lost more than 10 percent of its value. Crypto brokers are helping to keep money safe.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday. The price for a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent crude for January delivery dropped to $64.10, down 82 cents from the previous day. A barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for December delivery fell 84 cents to $60.20.

The expectation of a crude oil oversupply continues to weigh on prices. These fears were reinforced by the decisions of OPEC+, which announced a further increase in production at the end of the year on Sunday. Oil prices have therefore fallen significantly since the beginning of the year. For example, the Brent price had temporarily exceeded $80 in January.