DAX Up 1.75% On Easing Trade Tensions, Fairly Encouraging Economic Data

(RTTNews) - German stocks are up firmly in positive territory on Friday amid easing trade tensions after China said it has kept the doors open for discussions with the United States.

At the same time, Beijing has also noted that the U.S. needs to show "sincerity" in negotiations and should be prepared to cancel its unilateral tariffs.

Investors are also reacting to earnings updates and economic data from the region.

The benchmark DAX was up with a strong gain of 393.11 points or 1.75% at 22,890.09 a little while ago.

Siemens Energy and Bayer are gaining 4.7% and 4.5%, respectively. Rheinmetall is up 3.7% and MTU Aero Engines is climbing 3.6%.

SAP, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Infineon Technologies, Symrise, Porsche, Continental and Commerzbank are moving up 1.5 to 2.7%.

Merck, Adidas, Sartorius, Fresenius, Porsche Automobil, Deutsche Boerse, Deutsche Post and Daimler Truck Holding are also notably higher.

BASF Group is down by about 1%. The chemical company reported that its net income attributable to shareholders for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 dropped to 808 million euros or 0.91 euros per share from 1.368 billion euros or 1.53 euros per share last year.

Earnings per share adjusted for special items and amortization of intangible assets amounted to 1.57 euros compared to 1.68 euros in the prior year.

BASF has also warned that it needs more time to assess the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Muench Rueck is down 4.7%. RWE is declining 3.4%.

Data from S&P Global showed that the HCOB Germany Manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 48.4 in April 2025, from a preliminary reading of 48 and March's 48.3. The latest reading was the highest recorded for more than two-and-a-half years.

Flash data from Eurostat said Eurozone annual inflation remained stable in April. The harmonized index of consumer prices grew 2.2% on a yearly basis in April, the same pace of increase as seen in March. Prices were expected to climb at a slower pace of 2.1%.

Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco increased more-than-expected to 2.7% from 2.4% in the previous month. Economists had forecast a rise of 2.5%.

On a monthly basis, the HICP moved up 0.6%, data showed.