After four consecutive days of increases, Germany’s benchmark index DAX experienced a decline on Friday morning, influenced by rising oil prices and a downturn in the tech sector due to unsatisfactory earnings reports from Amazon and Intel. Investors responded to the most recent set of economic indicators, which encompassed reports on import prices and preliminary GDP figures. Brent crude front-month futures increased to $114.07 a barrel before declining to approximately $112.60, representing a rise of up to 1.6% from the previous close.
The DAX experienced a decline of 108.05 points, reflecting a decrease of 0.41%, settling at 25,931.63 recently.
- Siemens Energy experienced a decline exceeding 5%. Infineon Technologies experienced a decline of 3.4%.
- Hochtief experienced a decline of approximately 2.1%.
- Fresenius Medical Care, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, and Rheinmetall experienced declines ranging from 1% to 1.7%, whereas RWE and Commerzbank saw reductions of 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Shares of sportswear maker Puma experienced a notable increase of 7.5% following an enhancement in gross margins during the third quarter. For the three-month period, the company reported a net loss of EUR 54.9 million, or EUR 0.37 per share, an improvement compared to a net loss of EUR 62.3 million, or EUR 0.42 per share in the corresponding period last year.
- Bayer experienced an increase of 4.2%. Beiersdorf experienced an increase of 2.6%, while Scout24 saw a rise of 2.5%.
- Hannover RE, Henkel, SAP, Symrise, Munich RE, Deutsche Boerse, Vonovia, Fresenius, Zalando, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, and Merck experienced an increase of 1% to 2%.
- Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Adidas, Siemens Healthineers, GEA Group, and Brenntag experienced moderate increases.
Flash indicated that the German economy experienced a greater-than-anticipated expansion in the third quarter, with Gross National Product increasing by 0.2% from the previous quarter, in contrast to the 0.3% growth recorded in the second quarter. Economists had projected a quarterly growth of 0.1%. On a yearly basis, calendar-adjusted GDP recorded an annual growth of 1.2% following a rise of 1% in the previous period. GDP was projected to expand by 1.1%.
In September, Germany experienced a notable increase in import prices, rising by 10.4% year-on-year. This marks an acceleration from the previous month’s rate of 8.3% and surpasses market expectations, which were set at 10.3%. It represented the peak level since November 2022. On a monthly basis, import prices increased by 2.1%, building on a 1% rise in August and surpassing expectations of 1.8%, representing the highest level since March. Germany’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 6.4% in October, aligning with market expectations and marking its highest level since 2020.
