FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The German stock market again suffered significant price losses on Friday. The Dax ultimately fell by 1.44 percent to 18 002.02 points. It thus remained just above the 18,000-point mark, below which it had temporarily slipped for the first time in 6 weeks. The weekly loss of 3 percent was the highest since August last year.

The technical chart picture does not bode well for the future price trend. With the price decline before the weekend, the leading index not only confirmed the previous day's slide below the 21- and 50-day moving averages, which are considered indicators for the short to medium-term trend. It also came dangerously close to the 100-day line, which is important for the longer-term trend and above which it had held its ground since November. At the end of trading, the MDax index of medium-sized German companies was down 1.36% to 25,719.43 points.

"The shock over the result of the European elections and the upcoming new elections in France has not only left its mark on the stock market in Paris, but also in Frankfurt," commented analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from trading house CMC Markets. The possible trade conflict with China following the threat of punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is also weighing on the market. "Next week should therefore be dominated by attempts to stabilize the situation, which is all that should be possible in the current situation."

Capital market strategist Jürgen Molnar from broker RoboMarkets was also pessimistic: "At the moment, the chances of a successful preliminary round for the German national soccer team are higher than for a positive change in sentiment on the Frankfurt stock exchange," he said, referring to the European Championships starting this Friday evening. In view of the US Federal Reserve's reluctance to cut interest rates, the fact that interest rate fantasies in Europe have already faded again and the geopolitical trouble spots, "there is not really a good reason to buy shares at the moment".

Other European trading venues also felt the effects of this on Friday. The leading eurozone index, the EuroStoxx 50, went into the weekend almost 2 percent lower. In Paris, the decline was even more pronounced, while London escaped with a moderate loss. The Dow Jones Industrial, the leading US index, fell slightly at the close of the European session, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 managed a slight gain.

A wave of profit-taking once again swept over the shares of Rheinmetall and other German defense stocks. Although Rheinmetall was able to stem the price losses of 9 percent at times and closed 5.3 percent lower, it remained one of the weakest DAX stocks. Hensoldt in the MDax and the Renk shares, which are not listed in any major index, both lost 2.9 percent in the end.

Thyssenkrupp shares, which hardly changed, stabilized at best after yesterday's fall to a three-and-a-half-year low. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the US investor Carlyle is stepping up its efforts to acquire the defense subsidiary Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). According to the report, Carlyle could acquire a majority stake in TKMS and the German state bank KfW a blocking minority. Thyssenkrupp would then only hold a minority stake.

On the currency market, the euro temporarily fell to its lowest level since the beginning of May, but was able to recover somewhat to 1.0695 dollars. The European Central Bank (ECB) had previously set the reference rate at 1.0686 dollars.

On the bond market, the current yield fell from 2.61 percent the previous day to 2.44 percent. The Rex bond index rose by 0.91 percent to 125.31 points. The Bund future rose by 0.88 percent to 133.01 points./gl/men

--- By Gerold Lohle, dpa-AFX ---