BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - After moving higher early on in the session thanks to gains in technology stocks, the German market retreated Wednesday morning with investors turning cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement due later in the day.
Investors assessed the EU-India trade deal, and weighed European Central Bank official Martin Kocher's comments that the central bank might start cutting rates if Euro surges higher.
The benchmark DAX was down 54.80 points or 0.22% at 24,853.43 a little while ago.
Infineon Technologies climbed 6.3%. Daimler Truck Holding, Siemens Energy, Brenntag and Vonovia gained 1.3 to 1.8%. Continental, SAP, Symrise, Scout24 and Allianz posted modest gains.
Shares of chemicals maker Wacker Chemie rallied 3% after the company launched a €300 mln cost-cutting plan.
Fresenius, Bayer, Heidelberg Materials and GEA Group lost 2.1 to 2.8%. MTU Aero Engines, Qiagen, Commerzbank, Siemens Healthineers, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank, Merck and Beiersdorf lost 1 to 1.8%.
On the economic front, survey data published jointly by NIQ/GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed German consumer confidence is set to improve in February, driven by strong rebounds in income expectations and willingness to buy.
The forward-looking consumer climate indicator rose more-than-expected to -24.1 from -26.9 in January. The score was expected to climb to -25.5 in February.
Economic and income expectations as well as the willingness to buy improved, while the willingness to save was mostly stable in January.
The willingness to save remained at a very high level in January and had no significant influence on the monthly confidence indicator, the survey showed. The corresponding index dropped to 17.9 from 18.7.
Although the consumer confidence index recovered notably from the strong losses, the indicator remained low, GfK said.
Consumers assess that the German economy is returning to a moderate growth path after three years of recession or stagnation. Economic experts currently expect the largest euro area economy to grow by around one percent in 2026.
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