Frankfurt (Reuters) - The guesswork surrounding the US Federal Reserve's future interest rate path slowed down the Dax on Thursday.

The leading German index was unable to maintain its initial gain of 0.9 percent at times - by late morning it was trading just 0.1 percent higher at 16,708 points. The EuroStoxx50 gained 0.2 percent. Investors focused primarily on initial jobless claims and consumer prices in the USA, which were expected in the afternoon. The worst possible mix of data would be weak initial jobless claims and an increase in inflation, said chief analyst Jochen Stanzl from broker CMC Markets. This could push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high for a longer period of time.

After investors had increasingly bet on an imminent turnaround in interest rates at the end of the year, the mood changed again somewhat. Concerns are growing that the Fed might not cut interest rates until later in the year after all. The head of the New York Fed district, John Williams, recently signaled that he believes it is still too early to call for interest rate cuts. In his opinion, the US central bank will have to maintain a restrictive monetary policy for some time to fully achieve its goals of curbing inflation. The dollar index was slightly weaker on Thursday at 102.18 points. The euro was flat at 1.0960 dollars.

Since the beginning of 2022, the Fed has raised key interest rates from near zero to a range of 5.25 to 5.50 percent. Most recently, the monetary authorities have held still three times in a row. Investors expect the Fed to pause at the end of the month as well.

Zalando shares were among the biggest winners on the DAX, rising by around three percent at times. They benefited from positively received quarterly figures from online fashion retailer About You. Its shares traded around 24 percent higher. Banking stocks, on the other hand, did not have a good day ahead of the start of the reporting season for the major US financial institutions. Deutsche Bank shares fell by 3.2 percent and Commerzbank shares lost 0.9 percent. In the USA, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will have a look at their books on Friday. Analysts expect profits in the fourth quarter to be lower than in the same period last year.

In the MDax, Rational saw a significant rise. Shares in the kitchen equipment manufacturer rose by more than seven percent. The company benefited from a major order from a customer in Asia and earned more than expected in the past year.

GREEN LIGHT FOR BITCOIN SPOT-ETF IN THE USA

The crypto market was also a topic of conversation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the first exchange-traded Bitcoin funds (ETFs) listed in the United States. The cyber currency Bitcoin temporarily climbed by up to 3.9 percent to 47,750 dollars, just below the 21-month high reached on Tuesday. The approval is a milestone in the history of Bitcoin and Co, said expert Timo Emden from Emden Research. "The thriller has come to an end." According to analysts, the SEC's decision is likely to trigger increased demand for the cyber currency, as it will give investors access to Bitcoin via regulated providers without having to go through a crypto exchange. According to experts, this would also make it possible to invest large sums of money that were previously too risky for many. In any case, it will be easier than ever for small investors to invest in cryptocurrency in the future, stated Jürgen Molnar from the broker Robomarkets.

In pre-market US trading, shares in the crypto exchange Coinbase gained 5.1 percent, while the shares of blockchain farm operator Bitfarms advanced by more than nine percent.

(Report by: Daniela Pegna, edited by Christian Götz. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).