30 a..m., up 0.9 % from the prior day’s close.
At the top of the performance list were Siemens, Commerzbank, Deutsche Telekom and Continental, while Symrise and Mercedes‑Benz finished at the bottom. Mercedes‑Benz announced that its earnings dropped sharply during the past fiscal year, and it plans to cut its dividend accordingly.
Market‑analysis chief Andreas Lipkow of CMC Markets said investors are still facing a mix of conflicting signals. He added that the U.S. labor‑market data released on Wednesday require deep detail to understand the broader economic picture. Although the data initially exceeded expectations, subsequent revisions repeatedly painted a different story. Consequently, the first unemployment‑benefit claims that are set to be reported today may become more significant.
Lipkow also noted a stabilization at a low economic level in Europe, citing recent quarterly results from Siemens Energy and Commerzbank, as well as early figures from Siemens. He stressed that the region remains heavily dependent on the economies of China and the United States, and that the European Union’s defense spending is a notable additional driver of this stability.
The euro strengthened slightly against the dollar. One euro was worth 1.1880 USD, while one US dollar traded at 0.8418 EUR.
At the same time, Brent crude rose, with a barrel of North Sea Brent priced at $69.65 at 9 a.m. German time-an increase of 25 cents, or 0.4 %, from the previous close.
