The German stock market started the new week hardly changed. Although the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is unlikely to raise interest rates in October and oil prices fell slightly, the DAX hardly moved.
The leading German index closed 0.1 percent higher at 25,254 points. On Friday, the DAX had gained 1.2 percent to 25,231 points, limiting its weekly loss to 0.7 percent.
The continued weakness of the euro caused unrest. In the morning, the common currency fell below the $1.12 mark for the first time since May 2025. Although this is positive for export companies, the political uncertainty is worrying investors. “Investors are withdrawing their trust in the euro,” commented market expert Thomas Altmann from asset manager QC Partners.
The focus remains on the rise in yields on French government bonds. This also puts a strain on the stock markets. "German state elections that point to a political upheaval, mass protests and possible new elections in Spain, the midterm elections in the USA and the French elections in the spring - investors will not be able to ignore the topic of politics in the next six months," said Jochen Stanzl, chief analyst at Consorsbank.
After all, weaker US labor market data on Friday dampened investors' concerns about interest rates. Market participants are now pricing in just a 26 percent chance of a Fed rate hike this month.
Prices on the raw materials market remain high, but Brent crude oil from the North Sea fell to just over $101 per barrel. Rising crude oil exports from the Middle East and the release of 100 million barrels from the emergency reserves of the G7 countries pushed prices down. This offset concerns about Houthi militia attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities and increasing attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
No relief is initially expected from important oil exporting countries in the OPEC+ cartel: they do not want to increase their production targets in November either. Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other states announced this after an online meeting.
Given these guidelines, Wall Street opened cautiously. In early trading, the Dow Jones standard shares fell slightly, while the Nasdaq technology exchange remained close to its record high from Friday with an increase of half a percent.
The mood among German consumers has deteriorated just a few weeks before the start of the Christmas shopping season. The barometer for the consumer climate fell by 1.19 points to 93.51 points in October, as the German Trade Association (HDE) announced. It is therefore significantly below the level of the same month last year. “There is currently no sign of an upturn in private consumption,” says the HDE. “This also clouds the expectations for the Christmas business somewhat.”
In view of unfavorable industry news, auto stocks remained fairly stable. The mood in the German automotive industry deteriorated significantly in September. The barometer for the business climate fell to minus 35.0 points, as the Munich ifo Institute announced. The companies rated their business situation as worse than ever this year.
Defense stocks such as Rheinmetall and Hensoldt were able to recover somewhat. On Sunday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) offered Ukraine a comprehensive aid package during a surprise visit to Kiev. According to the federal government, the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian companies agreed on 14 collaborations with German defense companies with a total volume of around 6.6 billion euros.
Deutsche Telekom shares were also slightly stronger than the market. The DAX group wants to save a lot through the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI). In 2027, costs are expected to fall by 1.1 billion euros compared to 2023, and by 2030 the savings will increase to 2.5 billion euros. However, the expenses are not taken into account in this calculation. At the same time, Telekom forecast strong growth in its AI business.
