German stocks edged higher on Friday after data showed the country’s manufacturing sector expanded more-than-expected in February.
The preliminary manufacturing activity report from IHS/Markit research revealed that its manufacturing PMI for Germany rose to 60.6 this month vs. 56.5 expected and 57.1 prior.
The services PMI dropped to 45.9 from the previous month’s reading of 47.0, while the composite output index rose to a two-month high of 51.3 in February.
Meanwhile, German producer prices increased 0.9 percent year-on-year in January after a 0.2 percent rise in December, data from Destatis showed. Economists had expected 0.3 percent inflation.
The benchmark DAX edged up 0.3 percent to 13,922 after closing 0.2 percent lower in the previous session.
Utility RWE AG lost nearly 3 percent. The company said that the extreme weather conditions in Texas/USA lead to outages of RWE’s wind turbines and high electricity prices.
Insurance and asset management company Allianz SE advanced 0.8 percent. After reporting a marginal drop in fourth-quarter net income, the company said it is in a good position to deliver on its 2021 ambition.
Market Analysis
DAX Edges Higher On Solid PMI Data
2021-02-19 08:55:25
