DAX Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - After a weak start, Germany's equity benchmark DAX moved modestly higher Monday morning amid cautious moves by investors. Worries about Middle East tensions and higher crude oil prices weighed on sentiment.

Brent crude futures moved up more than 3% as Iran and the U.S. exchanged fire over the weekend, and Israeli troops captured the strategic site of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter-century.

Israelian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the capture of the strategic fortress a "decisive shift" in Israel's campaign against Hezbollah.

The benchmark DAX, which dropped to 25,069.75 earlier, was up 86.08 points or 0.34% at 25,199.14 a few minutes ago.

Amid optimism around AI-related investments, shares of technology companies moved higher. Infineon Technologies climbed nearly 3.5% and SAP moved up 2.3%.

Commerzbank, Siemens Energy, RWE, Continental, BASF and Siemens gained 1%-1.6%.

Rheinmetall dropped 3.1%. Bayer drifted lower by about 2.1%. Heidelberg Materials, Hannover RE and Fresenius Medical Care lost 1.7%-1.9%.

Qiagen, Zalando, Allianz, Fresenius, Munich RE, Siemens Healthineers, Symrise, GEA Group, Scout24, Merck and Adidas shed 0.5-1.2%.

Data from the federal statistical office Destatis showed Germany's retail sales dropped 0.3% month-on-month in April 2026, matching the pace of a downwardly revised decline in the previous month and outperforming market expectations for a 0.4% fall.

On an annual basis, retail sales slipped 0.2%, following a downwardly revised 0.2% decline in March, indicating that consumer demand remained subdued despite easing inflationary pressures.

Data from S&P Global showed Germany's S&P Global Manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 50.1 in May from a preliminary of 49.9, continuing to point to nearly stabilization in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, eurozone May final Manufacturing PMI reading came in at 51.6, dropping from 52.2 in April.