Lidar Technology Will Enable a Self-Driving Future. What to Know About 6 Stocks.

Lidar is an exciting technology that will help enable self-driving cars, but it’s relatively new and expensive to put on vehicles. That leaves investors in a tight spot: How do they differentiate among all the new lidar stocks? 

Lidar, or laser-based radar, is particularly good at seeing a long way down the road. And most auto makers plan to use a mix of lidar, radar, and optical cameras as the eyes of their self-driving cars.

There are six lidar stocks for investors to choose from. They all position themselves a little differently from one another. Here is a rundown of the six, in no particular order: Comparing LidarPrice to projected 2025 salesSources: Company filings, Barron’s calculationsNote: Velodyne is based on projected 2024 salesLuminar, LAZROutster, OUSTVelodyne, VLDRInnoviz, INVZAeva, AEVAAEye, CFAC0102.557.5

AEye, which is merging with the special-purpose acquisition company CF Finance Acquisition III(ticker: CFAC), is focused on biomimicry. Its lidar sensors and software will focus on an object like a human eye, as a way to allocate lidar resources to the most important things. 

AEye is valued at about $2 billion, based on the number of share outstanding after the SPAC merger closes. It has a relationship with auto-parts giant Continental (CON.Germany) and plans to have products in cars by 2024. Sales in 2025 are projected to be $290 million. 

Sales for AEye, and the others, will go into both automotive and industrial end markets.

AEye is targeting profit margins of 31% in 2025 based on Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. 

Velodyne Lidar (VLDR) forecasts sales of $684 million in 2024 and Ebitda margins of 22%; its original projections don’t go out to 2025. Velodyne is valued at about $1.9 billion based on fully diluted, pro forma share count. 

Ford Motor (F) was an early investor in Velodyne, which was one of the earliest lidar companies to merge with a SPAC. Velodyne initially focused its technology on delivery vehicles and robotaxis, commercial vehicles that earn revenue to spend on high-priced sensors. Lidar sensors can still run more than $1,000 apiece, compared with radar sensors that can cost a little as $30.

Luminar Technologies (LAZR) is the most valuable lidar company, at about $7.7 billion. It forecasts $837 million in 2025 sales and Ebitda margins of 44%. It has a relationship with Volvo and will have sensors on a production car relatively soon.

The company boasts the most “dense point cloud” of its competitors. The point cloud is the picture lidar paints. More points equals a better picture, a better view of the road and what’s coming at a vehicle. 

Ouster (OUST) has the most aggressive revenue projections, expecting to generate sales of $1.6 billion in 2025 and Ebitda margins of 36%. It is aggressively pursuing other markets including robots as well as cars. Its market cap sits at $2.2 billion. 

AEVA Technologies (AEVA) talks about its 4D lidar. The fourth dimension likely refers to motions as well as the spatial, 3D data. AEVA didn’t return a request for comment. The company also says it has “edge compute” lidar on a microchip. Some of the data processing is done by where the sensor is located.

AEVA foreasts $880 million in 2025 sales and 39% Ebitda margins. The company’s market cap is at $2.5 billion. 

Innoviz Technologies (INVZ) is the last of the publicly traded, pure-play lidar stocks Barron’slooked at. It’s valued at roughly $1.5 billion and forecasts $581 million in 2025 sales and 31% Ebitda margins. Innoviz has a relationship with parts supplier Magna International (MGA) and wants to drive down the cost of sensors as fast as possible. 

There will be lidar winners and losers. Investors can take a biotech-like approach and buy a basket of lidar stocks, betting the gains from winners might overwhelm losses from losers.

Investors could also buy the most valuable: Luminar Technologies. With new technologies, it often pays to buy the best, and right now the market is saying Luminar is the best.

Investors can also take Wall Street’s advice. Aeva is the most popular of the lidar stocks. Five out of five analysts covering the stock rate shares Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average Buy-rating ratio for five lidar stocks—AEye doesn’t have coverage yet, according to Bloomberg—is about 70%. 

Investors can also do all the work required to differentiate among the technology platforms and management teams. That is the hardest path, but it might offer the highest potential reward approach. The first question those investors should ask is “show me your point cloud?”

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Buy the Dip or Ditch Bitcoin After Tesla Changes Tune?

Tesla  (TSLA) – Get Report CEO Elon Musk stirred the pot on Wednesday night and that volatility has spilled into Thursday’s trading session.

While Musk still comes across as a fan of cryptocurrencies, he tweeted that Tesla will no longer accept bitcoin as a form of payment.

However, he stated that the company will continue to hold bitcoin on the balance sheet. It’s an interesting take for a company that just recently began accepting payment in the form of bitcoin.

He said, “Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emission of any fuel.”

To little surprise, that caused a big spill in bitcoin prices, which closed lower by 13% on Wednesday and fell as much as 7.5% on Thursday.

So far though, those losses have been curbed to just 1.5%. For Tesla’s part, the stock is down about 3% on Thursday and getting into some of the key support levels I discussed earlier this week.

This time though, let’s look at bitcoin.

Trading Bitcoin

Daily chart of Bitcoin.Chart courtesy of TrendSpider.com

While ethereum, dogecoin and other altcoins and cryptocurrencies have been surging to new highs, bitcoin has been a notable laggard.

Granted, the cryptocurrency just hit a new all-time high last month when Coinbase  (COIN) – Get Report came public, but it’s been struggling for upside momentum over the last few weeks.

However, when bitcoin hit new highs on April 14, it reversed and closed lower on the day. Including that day, it fell in 10 of 12 days before finally bottoming near $47,000.

On its current pullback, bitcoin again found its footing near the $47,000 area. This time though, the 21-week moving average acted as an additional layer of support.

From here, let’s give bitcoin a day or two to see if it firms up. If it does, we’ll want to see some type of rotation to the upside — like a daily-up rotation over the prior day’s high.

If we get that, we may be able to get some sort of rebound back up toward the $55,000 area and the 21-day moving average.

For now though, the $58,000 to $60,000 area remains as stiff resistance.

A break of Thursday’s low at $45,700 opens up the $40,000 to $43,000 area, as well as the 200-day moving average. Perhaps this larger dip would allow for a better buying opportunity, but right now, we’re at least getting a nice reaction off current support.

Let’s give bitcoin a day or two to see if it can hold the lows and rotate higher.

Taiwan says Hong Kong tycoon asset freeze a warning to global investors

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan warned on Saturday that Hong Kong’s decision to freeze assets belonging to jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai was a sign to the international community that doing business in the Chinese-controlled city was becoming increasingly risky.

The asset freeze, announced on Friday, includes all shares in his company, Next Digital – the first time a listed firm has been target by national security laws in the financial hub.

Shortly before the announcement, the Taiwan arm of Lai’s popular Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Daily said it would stop publishing its print version, blaming declining advertising revenue and more difficult business conditions in Hong Kong linked to politics.

In a statement sent to Reuters, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said the asset seizure highlighted the threat Hong Kong’s national security law posed to the property of the city’s people.

“It is equivalent to announcing to the international community that Hong Kong’s business risks are increasing,” the council added.

“We also once again call on relevant parties to stop suppressing Hong Kong democrats, otherwise they will drift away from popular sentiment.”

The former British colony of Hong Kong has been rocked by protests against its Beijing-backed government in recent years and last year China imposed a tough new national security law on the city.

China denies it is aimed at taking away people’s freedoms and is needed to return law and order to Hong Kong.

Chinese-claimed Taiwan has a rambunctious democracy and a free media and its government has been strongly critical of the crackdown in Hong Kong, to Beijing’s anger.

Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison for taking part in unauthorised assemblies during pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Biden: Jobs report shows ‘long way to go’ in economic recovery

President Joe Biden on Friday said there was a “long way to go” before the U.S. economy recovers from a pandemic-spurred slump and urged Washington to do more to help the American people after a disappointing jobs report.

U.S. job growth unexpectedly slowed in April, likely restrained by shortages of workers and raw materials. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs last month. Economists had expected nearly a million jobs to be added.

Biden and his team have said his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, the Democratic president’s first major legislative accomplishment, is helping to bring the economy back from its pandemic plummet.

“Today’s report just underscores in my view how vital the actions we’re taking are,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “Our efforts are starting to work. But the climb is steep and we still have a long way to go.”

The White House is pressing for trillions of dollars more in spending on infrastructure, education and other priorities. Republicans, however, object to the high price tag of Biden’s initiatives and critics have raised concerns about inflation and a disincentive, thanks to generous unemployment benefits, for people to return to the workforce.

The White House dismissed that criticism on Friday. Biden said he had not seen evidence that enhanced unemployment benefits were putting a drag on employment figures.

“It’s clear that there are people who are not ready and able to go back into the labor force,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, citing parents whose children have different return-to-school schedules. “I don’t think the addition to unemployment compensation is really the factor that is making a difference.”

Jared Bernstein, a member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, told Reuters Biden’s COVID relief and stimulus package, known as the American Rescue Plan, had helped generate an average of more than half a million jobs per month over the last three months, April notwithstanding.

“Those are big numbers, and the fingerprints of the American Rescue Plan are all over those additions,” he said.

Bernstein said no course correction was required from the White House, a theme echoed by Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, who pressed for passage of Biden’s next legislative push.

“The disappointing April jobs report highlights the urgent need to pass President Biden’s American Jobs and Families Plans,” she said in a statement.

Republicans viewed it differently.

“Why is anyone surprised that the jobs reports fell short of expectations?,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida on Twitter. “I told you weeks ago that in #Florida I hear from #smallbusinesses every day that they can’t hire people because the government is having them not go back to work.”

The share of Americans who are either working or looking for work rose last month, and the number of people who said they are not looking for jobs because of COVID-19 fell by 900,000 in April, Bernstein said.

“What we do see is a lot of people who are still hesitant to go back to work because of safety concerns, care issues, schooling issues, and we’ll continue to watch this very closely,” he said.

Reuters.com

Canopy Growth agrees on $750 term loan with King Street

(marketwatch.com) – The U.S.-listed shares of Canopy Growth Corp. CGC, +3.97%WEED, +3.82% edged up 0.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after the Canada-based cannabis company announced an agreement on a $750 million senior secured term loan with funds advised by King Street Capital Management L.P. The term loan, which matures on March 18, 2026, has a coupon of LIBOR plus 8.5% and has no amortization payments. The agreement also allows the company to receive up to an additional $500 million of senior secured debt. The company plans to use the proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, which could include growth investments, acquisitions and strategic initiatives. “We are delighted to welcome King Street as our anchor debt investor and look forward to building value for both our credit and equity investors over time,” said Canopy Chief Financial Officer Mike Lee. The stock has rallied 35.0% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the Cannabis ETF THCX, +0.88% has climbed 69.1% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% has gained 7.1%.

8 Hottest NFT Sales This Week: $69 Million Beeple NFT Tops the List

(Investorplace.com) – As investor excitement around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continues unabated, these crypto assets have skyrocketed in price and popularity. This week, digital artist Beeple made an eye-watering $69.3 million at auction, the largest single NFT sale to date.

Source: mundissima / Shutterstock.com

For those who don’t know, NFTs are like blockchain trading cards, confirming that an individual owns the original, authenticated copy of a digital file, like a JPEG or an MP3. Some of these NFTs come with smart contracts that give their owners real world perks, whether that’s input on team jerseys or lifelong concert tickets.

Here are eight of the hottest NFT sales of the past week.

Beeple: ‘The First 5,000 Days’

Digital artist Beeple might not have been the first artist to mint an NFT, but his work is highly emblematic of the current era of NFT hype. Beeple’s digital artworks are freely available online yet, even prior to this sale, fetch millions of dollars at auction.

Bidding for “The First 5,000 Days” started at just $100, but dramatically escalated over the course of the week. Per ARTNews, last Friday the bidding was at $4 million. At the close of the auction, prices jumped from $37.5 million to the hammer price of $60 million, less fees and taxes.

The NFT was purchased by notable cryptocurrency investor Metakovan, an early adopter of NFT art. Metakovan previously purchased a virtual car for more than $100,000 in November, and cofounded an NFT investing fund called Metapurse.

Jack Dorsey

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and Square(NYSE:SQ) CEO Jack Dorsey put his first tweet up for sale as an NFT via the platform Valuables. He announced the sale by tweeting a link on Friday, March 5. By the evening of March 6, bidding had climbed to $2.5 million.

The bidding for this NFT will close on March 21, 2021, the 15-year anniversary of the tweet. Dorsey has said the proceeds will be converted to Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and donated to Give Directly’s Africa Fund.

Steve Aoki and Anthony Tudisco

As we reported here on InvestorPlace earlier in the week, American electronic musician Steve Aoki sold a series of NFTs this week in collaboration with digital artist Anthony Tudisco. Those NFTs included music from Aoki and 3D virtual characters by Tudisco.

Bidding on a 1-of-1 NFT from that sale closed on Monday evening, with a winning bid of $888,888.88. That’s a big jump from the highest bids of approximately $151,000 on Monday afternoon.

Associated Press

If for some reason, living through the 2020 election wasn’t enough and you need a souvenir to commemorate it, I might recommend bidding on this surreal NFT created by the Associated Press.

With a mouthful of a title, “The Associated Press calls the 2020 Presidential Election on Blockchain — A View from Outer Space” sold for a little over 100 Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD), worth approximately $180,000. The artwork commemorates the first time an election was called on the blockchain, and saw bidding surge from less than $1,000 on March 3 to the sale price on March 11.

Bleacher Report

Sports blog Bleacher Report got in on the NFT craze surrounding the NBA this past weekend, selling digital basketballs designed in collaboration with popular rappers including 2 Chainz and Quavo. That NFT sale netted roughly $810,000 in total income.

Notably, 30 of the 40 basketballs up for sale were purchased by just two users. In many ways, this echoes the culture of artificial scarcity and highly marked up resale prevalent in streetwear and sneaker culture. As NFTs continue to gain traction as an investing asset, these resellers could see big profits. Conversely, should the enthusiasm around NFTs die down, they could be stuck with expensive assets no one wants to buy.

Lindsay Lohan

Best known for her work in films such as Mean Girls and The Parent Trap, Lindsey Lohan has released a number of NFTs via Rarible over the past weeks. Her most recent drop has seen bids as high as 24 ETH, worth approximately $44,000.

The tongue-in-cheek pieces depict the actress holding up the Ethereum logo and Lohan on the moon next to a Volkswagen Bug emblazoned with the bitcoin symbol. The actress had multiple sales in February that broke the $50,000 price level.

Lohan has said she will use proceeds from this NFT sale to buy NFTs from other artists.

NBA Top Shot

This was actually a non-sale, but the size of the rejected bid says a lot. Would you pay $100,000 for a digital trading card?

Probably not. But if I told you someone else would pay $1 million for it, you might (assuming you had $100,000 laying around). After all, you’d be crazy to turn down a 900% return on investment. Right?

One man apparently did exactly that this week, rejecting a bid of $1 million on a particularly rare Zion Williamson NFT. As reported by Wall Street Journal this week, NBA Top Shot NFTs have surged in value as more casual basketball fans buy highlights, making some whales very, very wealthy (at least on paper).

Azealia Banks and Ryder Ripps

Last but certainly not least, Brooklyn rapper Azealia Banks and American artist Ryder Ripps released an erotic audio NFT this past weekend. Banks may be familiar to investors due to her involvement in a class-action lawsuit against Tesla(NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.

The 24-minute audio album, which comes with a 1-of-1 vinyl pressing and “limitless distribution rights” was put up for sale on Saturday, March 6 with an asking price of 10 ETH. Worth approximately $18,000 at the time of sale, the NFT was promptly bought in a matter of hours.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high — Here’s why Warren Buffett still won’t touch it

(Moneywise.com) – The past year has been groundbreaking for Bitcoin. And just recently the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high: Over $61,000 for one unit — late-to-the-party investors bemoaned having missed out.

So what does the world’s most famous investor think of Bitcoin?

It’s “probably rat poison squared,” Warren Buffett once said.

If you listen to the billionaire, cryptocurrency may not be the big financial opportunity you’ve been dreaming of, nor is it the only way to get impressive returns if you have some cash you’re looking to put into the market. That’s what commission-free investing apps are for.

“I don’t have any Bitcoin. I don’t own any cryptocurrency, I never will,” he told CNBC in 2020.

Here are three reasons Buffett won’t go near it.

1. It has ‘no unique value at all’

Larry W Smith/EPA/Shutterstock

The billionaire investor doesn’t like Bitcoin because he considers it an unproductive asset.

Buffett has a well-known preference for stocks of corporations whose value — and cash flow — come from producing things. But cryptocurrencies don’t have real value, Buffett said in a CNBC interview in 2020.

“They don’t reproduce, they can’t mail you a check, they can’t do anything, and what you hope is that somebody else comes along and pays you more money for them later on, but then that person’s got the problem.”

Though Bitcoin is intended to provide real value as a payment system, that use is still pretty limited. As Buffett sees it, Bitcoin’s value comes from the optimism that someone else will be willing to pay more for it in the future than you’re paying today.

2. He doesn’t think crypto counts as money

stockphoto-graf / Shutterstock

As a tradeable asset, Bitcoin boomed. But does it meet the three criteria of money? According to the most common definition, money is supposed to be a means of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account.

But Buffett calls it a “mirage.”

“It does not meet the test of a currency,” the billionaire said on CNBC in 2014. “It is not a durable means of exchange, it’s not a store of value.”

He adds that it’s a very effective way of anonymously transmitting money. But: “a check is a way of transmitting money too,” he said. “Are checks worth a whole lot of money just because they can transmit money?”

3. He doesn’t understand it

Larry W Smith/EPA/Shutterstock

Buffett became one of the most successful investors in history by sticking with stocks he understands.

“I get in enough trouble with things I think I know something about. Why in the world should I take a long or short position in something I don’t know anything about?”

But people like to gamble, he told CNBC after a 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, which is another problem with non-productive assets.

“If you don’t understand it, you get much more excited than if you understand it. You can have anything you want to imagine if you just look at something and say, ‘that’s magic.’”

How does Buffett pick winning stocks?

Laurent Gillieron/EPA/Shutterstock

The billionaire investor follows the value investing strategy — which focuses on buying undervalued stocks of strong companies and holding them for a long time.

Simple, right?

Berkshire Hathaway looks for companies with a good profit margin and those that produce unique products that can’t easily be substituted. As Warren Buffett once said in a letter to his shareholders, “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

But Buffett’s distaste for crypto stocks doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy Bitcoin. Even the billionaire has come around on sectors he previously spoke out against.

He notoriously avoided tech stocks, even at the height of the dotcom bubble, and now his company’s largest holding is Apple.

You can start investing today

fizkes / Shutterstock

Bitcoin has made a lot of people rich along the way. But that doesn’t mean you’ve missed the boat on investing — just listen to Buffett’s words of wisdom.

Found a company you believe in? Even if you’re not swimming in cash, one popular investing app allows you to buy pieces of companies for as little as $1.

You can invest in fractional shares of stocks, options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and, yes, even cryptocurrencies. There are no fees and no commissions, and when you sign up, you’ll get a free share of stock added to your account to help you get started.

Or you might buy into companies with just your spare change, using a different app that rounds up your debit and credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the leftover pennies.

If you’re interested, but intimidated, that’s normal. Don’t be afraid to get some expert advice before you hit the stock market. Today, there are certified financial planners who will work with you online to create a personalized investing plan.

Save first who?

Save first who?

EU says pandemic disproportionately affects women, especially in frontline jobs

Economy (Mar 05, 2021 05:15AM ET)

By Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS (Reuters)M – Women in European Union countries have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic because they make up the vast majority of workers in health and other frontline jobs, an EU report said on Friday.

The pandemic has also brought a rise in domestic violence against women, the EU’s annual report on gender equality said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women’s lives,” it read. “There is already ample evidence that the hard-won achievements of past years have been ‘rolled back’…progress on women’s rights is hard won but easily lost.”

Health risks to women had increased as had their workload and challenges to their work-life balance, said the report, which will be published on Friday and was seen by Reuters in advance. Women also took on more care responsibilities in lockdowns.

This has weighed on women’s safety, domestic violence rising in France, Lithuania, Ireland and Spain during Europe’s first lockdown in the spring of 2020, it said.

Women also filled more jobs than men which required personal contact and have been hit the hardest by restrictions introduced to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“Women’s overrepresentation in lower paid sectors and occupations, such as hospitality, retail, or personal services, make them particularly vulnerable in the labour markets struck by the COVID-19 crisis,” it said.

Female employment in the EU dropped slightly more than male employment early on in the pandemic and women have since had more difficulties finding new jobs.

“In contrast, service sectors that were not as disrupted due to the nature of their activity such as information and communication, finance and insurance, primarily employing men, saw an increase in employment rates,” the report said.

It warned that the trends could lead to lower pensions for women, widening the gender pension gap and other inequalities “for decades to come”.EU says pandemic disproportionately affects women, especially in frontline jobs Add a Comment

Germany stocks lower at close of trade; DAX down 0.17%

Stock Markets(Mar 04, 2021 01:15PM ET)

Investing.com – Germany stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Technology, Transportation & Logistics and Consumer & Cyclical sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX lost 0.17%, while the MDAX index fell 0.80%, and the TecDAX index declined 1.48%.

The best performers of the session on the DAX were Volkswagen AG VZO O.N. (DE:VOWG_p), which rose 2.45% or 4.53 points to trade at 189.32 at the close. Meanwhile, Heidelbergcement AG O.N. (DE:HEIG) added 2.26% or 1.560 points to end at 70.440 and RWE AG ST O.N. (DE:RWEG) was up 2.25% or 0.680 points to 30.865 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn), which fell 6.78% or 2.345 points to trade at 32.225 at the close. Deutsche Bank AG NA O.N. (DE:DBKGn) declined 3.36% or 0.360 points to end at 10.340 and Adidas AG (DE:ADSGN) was down 3.13% or 9.05 points to 280.45.

The top performers on the MDAX were Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG (DE:O2Dn) which rose 2.83% to 2.252, Uniper SE (DE:UN01) which was up 2.26% to settle at 29.860 and CTS Eventim AG (DE:EVDG) which gained 2.17% to close at 58.950.

The worst performers were Prosiebensat 1 Media AG (DE:PSMGn) which was down 7.26% to 16.6000 in late trade, Aixtron SE (DE:AIXGn) which lost 6.88% to settle at 16.582 and Cancom SE O.N. (DE:COKG) which was down 4.88% to 53.550 at the close.

The top performers on the TecDAX were Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG (DE:O2Dn) which rose 2.83% to 2.252, Drillisch AG (DE:DRIG) which was up 2.30% to settle at 24.450 and Freenet AG NA (DE:FNTGn) which gained 0.63% to close at 19.100.

The worst performers were Aixtron SE (DE:AIXGn) which was down 6.88% to 16.582 in late trade, Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) which lost 6.78% to settle at 32.225 and Cancom SE O.N. (DE:COKG) which was down 4.88% to 53.550 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 438 to 241 and 75 ended unchanged.

Shares in Volkswagen AG VZO O.N. (DE:VOWG_p) rose to 5-year highs; rising 2.45% or 4.53 to 189.32. Shares in Heidelbergcement AG O.N. (DE:HEIG) rose to 52-week highs; rising 2.26% or 1.560 to 70.440. Shares in CTS Eventim AG (DE:EVDG) rose to 52-week highs; up 2.17% or 1.250 to 58.950. Shares in Freenet AG NA (DE:FNTGn) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 0.63% or 0.120 to 19.100.

The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was up 1.72% to 23.11.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 1.04% or 17.85 to $1697.95 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 4.85% or 2.97 to hit $64.25 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 4.73% or 3.03 to trade at $67.10 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.67% to 1.1981, while EUR/GBP fell 0.39% to 0.8609.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.65% at 91.532.Germany stocks lower at close of trade; DAX down 0.17% Add a Comment