The Rollercoaster Ride Continues. Can Earnings Season Bring Relief?

The rollercoaster ride on the stock markets continued in the second trading week of the notorious crash month of October. After stronger than expected inflation data from the US, the DAX dipped only briefly below the 12,000 mark, only to rise again 600 points at a time in the wake of a U-turn on Wall Street like a phoenix from the ashes.

The same game as a week earlier, where 12,675 was lit up on the scoreboard after the rally at the peak. This mark must now be overcome to speak of a successful bottoming and a possible upward trend again. However, the way out is likely to be a long and difficult one. But at least a conciliatory final quarter could heal some investor wounds.

Inflation remains the number one issue

Inflation will continue to dominate the headlines and investors' investment decisions. While the ten percent inflation in Germany has been confirmed this week, prices in the US rose more strongly than expected in September at 8.2 percent.

However, it is mainly core inflation that is causing concern. Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, prices rose for the second month after this index had also declined over the summer. The stock market continues to wait for signs of easing on the price front and an end to the central banks' monetary tightening measures.

Earnings season kicks off

But perhaps a successful third-quarter earnings season can fill the gap until then and create a positive mood. Starting with the figures of the major US banks, next week continues with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).

The e-car pioneer made a name for itself this week, as the best-selling car in Germany last month was no longer a VW Golf but a Tesla. It is also the first time in these statistics that there is no combustion engine under the bonnet. On the one hand, this speaks without question for the success of the e-car pioneer from the US.

On the other hand, it could also mean that the German car industry has problems with converting to electric mobility. The next few months should therefore show where the journey in the automotive sector is heading and whether Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) AG (OTC:VLKAF) can adapt their supply to the corresponding demand quickly enough.

Netflix reports on Tuesday

The streaming provider Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) will also present its quarterly figures on Tuesday. At least two things remain in the memory from the past quarters: firstly, that Netflix has been losing more and more customers below the line, and secondly, that the share price then fell by double digits and dragged the overall market along with it.

Now, however, expectations of Netflix have probably been lowered to such an extent that there is room for positive surprises. Moreover, investors are already looking ahead and are optimistic about introducing an ad-financed subscription.

This should help Netflix's revenues to rise more quickly again, and profitability should also be strengthened with the smaller prices for a larger target group. Perhaps Netflix will say something on Tuesday about how many new customers it believes it can reach with the cheaper model, but also whether it is afraid that some will switch from a more expensive to the cheaper tariff.

How many investors in the DAX switch from the sellers' to the buyers' side is likely to determine whether the market can continue to work on a bottom formation in the coming week or even complete it or whether the next U-turn on the stock market roller coaster will lead back down towards annual lows.

DAX - current supports and resistances:

Supports: 12,400/12,350 + 12,250/12,200 + 12,100/12,050

Resistances: 12,600/12,650 + 12,725/12,775 + 12,850/12,900