German Stocks Weighed By AI Uncertainty, Rate Hike Fears

(RTTNews) - German stocks shed ground on Friday, weighed down by uncertainty over the outlook for the AI trade and rising expectations for a Fed rate hike in December.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation has prompted investors to tread cautiously with regard to the technology sector.

Huang resigned Thursday after his extramarital affair with a Chinese businesswoman who reportedly was also acting as a spy for Beijing raised U.S. national security concerns.

Oil prices swung between gains and losses today as traders weighed continued disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies. After rising to $96.81 a barrel from an early low of $95.06, brent crude front-month futures dropped to $95.22, down more than 0.6% from previous close.

The benchmark DAX was up 4.80 points or 0.02% at 26,820.86 a quarter before noon. Earlier, the the index had dropped to a low of 26,671.17 before advancing to 26,833.73.

The benchmark DAX was up 4.80 points or 0.02% at 26,820.86 a quarter before noon. Earlier, the the index had dropped to a low of 26,671.17 before advancing to 26,833.73.

E.ON moved up 2%. Brenntag, Munich RE and Hannover RE gained 1.5%-1.7%, while Gea Group, Allianz and Symrise climbed 1.1%-1.2%.

Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Boerse, Zalando, Merck, BASF, Fresenius Medical Care, Bayer, SAP and RWE gained 0.3%-0.7%.

Shares of real estate company Deutsche EuroShop dropped more than 1%. The company reported modest growth in revenue and earnings before interest and taxes in the first nine months of the year.

Siemens shed about 1.6%. Rheinmetall drifted lower by 1.3%, while MTU Aero Engines, Vonovia, Hochtief and Infineon Technologies lost 0.8%-1.1%.

Data released by Destatis showed German wholesale prices increased at the fastest pace in more than three years in October due to elevated energy prices. Wholesale prices climbed 8.8% on a yearly basis in October, marking the strongest rise since February 2023. This followed September's 8.7% increase.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices were up 0.4% in October, in line with expectations. Prices had increased 1.9% in September.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone trade deficit came in at Euro 10.3 billion in September, compared with Euro 13.5 billion in the same month last year.

Eurozone GDP climbed 1.3% in the third quarter, compared with a 1.2% rise in the year-ago quarter.