Dax recovers some of the setbacks

On Monday, October 1, 20XX, the global market saw some significant shifts. In the world of stocks, US investment bank Jefferies upgraded Adidas from "Hold" to "Buy," setting a new target price, while JPMorgan maintained an "Overweight" rating with a target price of €236.00. Jefferies’ analyst James Grzinic issued the buy recommendation, seeing Adidas as a winner despite risks, but also lowered the price target due to valuation concerns.

Meanwhile, gold continued its rally, surpassing its all-time high set the previous day. The precious metal reached $3,558 per troy ounce, thanks to recent developments in U.S. trade policy that are providing tailwinds for gold.

In the German market, the Dax had a tough day on Tuesday, losing over 2% due to weak performance on Wall Street. However, on Wednesday, the German benchmark index, Dax, gained 0.5%, ending the day at 23,595 points. Adidas saw increased demand from Dax investors following the upgrade from Jefferies, with a new price target of 220 euros.

The Dax's technical picture temporarily clouded over with the accelerated move away from the 24,000 mark, according to Jürgen Molnar of Robomarkets. However, he also pointed out that the German benchmark index has repeatedly retaken the 24,000 point level faster than expected, showing resilience.

In the MDax, Delivery Hero was the biggest winner, with shares rising over 6% after positive comments from an analyst. On the other hand, Auto1 experienced profit-taking, with shares falling to a low not seen since early August following the release of its final half-year results.

Puma was put under pressure in the MDax after J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock from "Neutral" to "Underweight" and lowered the price target from 21 to 16 euros. In contrast, PVA Tepla was the strongest stock in the SDax, with both Deutsche Bank and Oddo BHF expressing positive views on the company.

J.P. Morgan analyst Wendy Liu sees enormous implementation risks in Puma's long-term company transformation. Adidas, however, is less exposed to the US business than its competitors, making it potentially beneficial from a weaker dollar and changes in supply chains due to tariffs. Jefferies cited Adidas' low stock price after recent losses and positive growth prospects across all segments as reasons for the upgrade.

Investors are cautiously emerging from their shells after a weak start to September. However, risks such as US President's trade and economic policies, the ongoing Ukraine war, monetary policy uncertainty, and France's political and financial situation are currently dampening investors' spirits. Thomas Altmann, portfolio manager at wealth manager QC Partners, stated that the big question now is where the next buying threshold for investors lies, with the previous one being at 24,000 points.