DE30 tests short-term resistance zone

• DE30 tests short-term resistance zone ranging below the 12320 pts handle

• Commerzbank (CBK.DE) no longer expects revenue to grow this year

• Infineon (IFX.DE) sinks after receiving a downgrade at Bankhaus Metzler

Stocks in Europe launched Friday’s trading higher in spite of a lacklustre session on Wall Street yesterday and in Asia today. The UK FTSE 100 (UK100) gains the most thanks to GBP weakness, while shares from Poland and Italy tread water near their yesterday’s closing prices.

Source: xStation5

DE30 managed to break above the short-term downward sloping trendline at the beginning of yesterday’s session. Bulls managed to lift the index above the price zone ranging above the 38.2% retracement of the downward move started on 20 September (12260 pts).. Later on the index made a failed attempt to break above the resistance at 12320 pts. However, DE30 makes another try at the beginning of today’s trading. In case it is successful, the upward move could extend to the 12370 pts handle. On the other hand, a failure to do so could cause the index to trade sideways in between 12260 and 12320 pts.

Infineon (IFX.DE) leads DAX losers after being downgraded at Bankhaus Metzler. Source: Bloomberg

Commerzbank (CBK.DE) released an updated outlook. The German lender no longer expects revenue to grow this year due to evident deterioration in the corporate clients business. The company also announced that it has decided to sell the majority stake in the Polish bank, mBank (MBK.PL). Proceeds from the sale could exceed €2 billion and will be used to fund restructuring of Commerzbank as well as planned takeover of Comdirect, the German online bank.

North American subsidiary of HeidelbergCement (HEI.DE) bought Keystone cement plant in Pennsylvania from Giant Cement. Plant has a production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of cement per year. However, before the transaction closes, regulators must approve it. Regulatory approval is expected to be granted in the coming months.

Infineon Technologies (IFX.DE) declines severely on Friday due to the downgrade it received at Bankhaus Metzler. The Bank lowered recommendation for the  stock from “hold” to “sell” and set a price target at €14. 

GEA Group (G1A.DE) received a downgrade at JPMorgan. Recommendation for the German food company was lowered from “neutral” to “underweight”. Price target was lowered from €23 to €21.50, implying a 17% decline against yesterday’s close.

Infineon (IFX.DE) stock managed to break above the 200-session moving average recently (purple line). However, upward move reversed slightly below the resistance zone ranging below the €19 handle. Price quickly pulled back below the aforementioned moving average and continued towards the support zone ranging above the €16.50. The stock broke below this zone today and may be eyeing a test of latest local lows at €14.95. Source: xStation5