DAX Rises As Auto Stocks Rally

(RTTNews) - The German market's benchmark DAX index rose to a three-week high Thursday morning, lifted by strong gains in the automobile sector, and some rating upgrades, as well as continued optimism about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

Ukraine peace talks were also in focus despite inconclusive talks in Moscow. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the head of Ukraine's national security council, Rustem Umerov, for talks in Miami today, the White House has confirmed.

President Trump said the talks - also attended by his son-in-law Jared Kushner - were "reasonably good", but it was too soon to say what would happen because "it does take two to tango."

The DAX was up 165.58 points or 0.7% at 23,848.03 a little before noon.

Porsche Automobil Holding rallied 5.2%. Mercedes-Benz climbed 4.2%.

Daimler Truck Holding surged 4.2%, while Volkswagen and BMW gained 3.4% and 3.6%, respectively.

Commerzbank, SAP, Fresenius and Siemens Energy gained 1.6 to 1.8%. Adidas, Hannover Rueck, Henkel, GEA Group, Siemens, Deutsche Post and Heidelberg Materials also posted notable gains.

Meanwhile, Bayer, Continental, Scout24, E.ON, Deutsche Boerse and RWE lost 1.1 to 1.7%.

Data from S&P Global showed Germany's construction sector continued to contract in November but the pace of decline softened due to the rise in civil engineering activity.

The HCOB construction Purchasing Managers' Index registered 45.2 in November, down from October's seven-month low of 42.8. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction in the sector.

A report from the Federal Motor Transport Authority said new car sales in Germany rose by 2.5% year-on-year to 250,671 units in November 2025, following a 7.8% increase the month before.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales were flat in October, following a modestly revised 0.1% increase in September. On an annual basis, however, retail sales increased 1.5% in October, up from 1.2% in September and slightly above the expected 1.3% increase.

The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI rose to 45.4 in November 2025 from 44.0 in October, a report from S&P Global showed.