Despite reducing some initial increases, Germany’s equity benchmark DAX stayed in positive territory Friday morning, driven by advancements in defense stocks due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and the potential for increased military expenditure. Automobile stocks emerged as significant gainers.

Data indicating a contraction in Germany’s manufacturing activity for December exerted downward pressure on stocks. The market, having been closed on Wednesday and Thursday, reopened for trading this morning. The DAX, having reached a peak of 24,691.11 earlier in the session, was recently up by 28.20 points, reflecting a gain of 0.12%, settling at 24,518.61.

• MTU Aero Engines and RWE experienced increases of 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
• Volkswagen experienced an increase of 1.7%.
• Siemens Energy, Bayer, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Rheinmetall saw gains ranging from 1% to 1.5%.
• Infineon, GEA Group, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, Porsche Automobil Holding, Deutsche Bank, and Scout24 experienced modest increases in their valuations.
• Vonovia, Qiagen, Hannover Rueck, and Fresenius Medical Care experienced declines ranging from 1% to 1.5%.
• Munich RE, Daimler Truck Holding, Siemens Healthineers, Symrise, and Fresenius experienced a decline.

Data indicated that the HCOB Germany Manufacturing PMI decreased to 47 in December, down from 48.2 in November and below the preliminary estimate of 47.7, reflecting the most significant contraction in ten months.