FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The DAX is aiming for the 21,000 point mark on Friday on its record run. Shortly before Donald Trump took office as US President, the leading German index posted three days of records in a row. It approached the 20,900 point mark. At lunchtime it increased by 0.93 percent to 20,848 points. On a weekly basis, he has increased profits to more than three percent; its annual increase is even close to five percent.
In the second row of German stock exchanges, the MDAX gained 0.98 percent to 25,761 points around midday. At the eurozone level, the EuroStoxx 50 reached 5,141 points, an increase of 0.66 percent. It reached its highest level in almost 25 years.
At the end of the week, positive impulses for the stock markets came from China, where the economy achieved the government’s growth target of around five percent in 2024. “Even if the numbers are still fraught with all sorts of doubts, they give hope that the Middle Kingdom may have the worst behind it when it comes to the economic downturn,” said market observer Jürgen Molnar from the broker Robomarkets.
“Many of the largest German listed companies are benefiting from the good global economy, even if production no longer takes place in Germany but at other locations,” said DekaBank chief economist Ulrich Kater, explaining the positive mood. Recently, inflation data from the USA and the start of the US reporting season also provided a new boost to prices.
Investor sentiment remains positive immediately ahead of Trump’s return. He will return to the White House on Monday, when trading in the US pauses on Martin Luther King Day. The LBBW experts then ask themselves which decrees he will sign on the first day. “Market participants are hoping that he could only raise import tariffs gradually,” said the Baden-Württemberg Landesbank.
The most striking individual stock from the DAX family on Friday was Suss Microtec (SUSS MicroTec SE (ex SUSS MicroTec)). The price jumped 23 percent after the technology group surprised with strong key data. The shares countered the fact that they had lost almost 28 percent of their value within just a few trading days. The day before they were the second biggest loser in the SDAX 2025, but now they have turned their annual balance into positive territory.
Stocks from the construction sector were generally popular across Europe, but in Germany some stocks from the energy sector were also among investors’ favorites. Heidelberg Materials, RWE and Eon (EON SE) were among the bigger winners with up to 2.4 percent. However, the energy technology group Siemens Energy was at the forefront with an increase of 3.5 percent. The shares had consolidated their record rally in the past few days, but have now gained some momentum again.
The shares of commercial vehicle manufacturers benefited from positive investment signals from the US freight forwarder JB Hunt, which Jefferies analyst Michael Aspinall had pointed out in the morning. Daimler Truck gained 2.2 percent in value in the Dax and TRATON even recovered by 3.5 percent in the MDax.
Otherwise, price-moving company news was in short supply in Germany. Brenntag (Brenntag SE) shares did not react much to two analyst regrades from UBS and Barclays Bank, both of which are now in neutral territory, canceling each other out. With a slight loss, the chemicals trader’s shares were recently among the weakest DAX stocks.
In the SDax, the Verbio (VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie) shares recovered by 2.5 percent from their price collapse the previous day. They had fallen by almost a quarter due to the annual targets being cut. At the lowest level since May 2020, some investors apparently sensed a bargain again with the biofuel manufacturer./tih/jha/
— By Timo Hausdorf, dpa-AFX —