Overview

• The DAX trades just shy of its July peak at 24,639 after a strong start to October, opening Monday little changed around 24,355–24,388.
• Rate-cut expectations from the Federal Reserve and renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, including reports of a near $500 billion valuation for OpenAI, are powering risk appetite.
• Wall Street extended records with the Dow briefly above 47,000, while Japan’s Nikkei hit a new high near 47,976 following Sanae Takaichi’s election to lead the LDP.
• Brent crude rose to roughly $65.4 after OPEC+ approved a modest 137,000 bpd supply increase from November, while gold reached $3,940 and Bitcoin topped $125,000 during the US government shutdown.
• Hannover Rück said it will lift its regular dividend payout ratio to 55% of net income, incorporating what had previously been special dividends into the standard distribution.