At the end of the trading month of August, the Dax DE0008469008 threatens to remain in its sideways range close to its record high.

Without any concrete impetus, investors are likely to continue to wait and see after the strong year so far. The 24,639 points from July are a target to be beaten, but according to market expert Robert Halver of Baader Bank, the DAX is "stuck below its all-time high." Even the opening of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's opening the door for a key interest rate cut on Friday failed to free the leading index from its range.

Halver considers it typical for the season in late summer for global stock markets to be searching for direction. While there's no reason to be in a bad mood, he said Friday that setbacks and increasing price volatility must still be factored in. He pointed to the many uncertainties surrounding monetary policy, the war in Ukraine, and global economic policy.

According to experts, investors are also facing the fact that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine are stalling. "Whether a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin will actually take place remains unclear. The question of what the security guarantees promised by Donald Trump will actually look like and how the issue of Ukraine's territorial cessions will be handled is also nebulous," Halver says. However, a "peace rally" is possible if investors start to play the reconstruction of Ukraine.

In terms of monetary policy, US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell had encouraging news for investors on Friday, no longer ruling out an imminent interest rate cut at the central bank's meeting in Jackson Hole. "The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market indicators allows us to proceed cautiously while we consider a change in our monetary policy," he said in the US state of Wyoming.

However, it will take some time before there is real certainty regarding monetary policy, as the Fed's next interest rate decision is not scheduled until mid-September. While market expectations for a rate cut had recently fallen, they were slightly boosted again on Friday at the central bank meeting in Jackson Hole. This initially boosted the US stock markets, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US2605661048) to a record high.

With regard to the economy, Landesbank Helaba states that the data calendar for the coming days is "not so promising that significantly more movement could be expected in the markets." On Monday, Metzler Chief Economist Edgar Walk sees good prospects for an improvement in the Ifo index. Preliminary data on consumer prices in Germany will be released on Friday, with Dekabank forecasting inflation to be just above the two percent mark again in August. Also coming out on Friday is the US deflator for private consumption expenditures, which is considered the Fed's most important price measure.

DZ Bank experts believe that the sustainability of share price developments in the AI ​​sector will continue to be a focus of market participants in the coming days. In this regard, the quarterly figures expected late Wednesday from chip giant Nvidia US67066G1040 are likely to be an important indicator for future market sentiment.

Among the German companies, there are laggards in the reporting season over the course of the week: SFC Energy DE0007568578 on Tuesday, Aroundtown LU1673108939 on Wednesday, and Delivery Hero DE000A2E4K43 and Fielmann DE0005772206 on Thursday./tih/jsl/he

--- By Timo Hausdorf, dpa-AFX ---