German stocks rallied on Wednesday after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is no longer pressing for NATO membership, a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor.
“NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine,” he said. “The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia.”
Separately, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said there were credible reports Russian forces were targeting civilians in Ukraine and urged the Kremlin to ensure the war would not spread beyond.
The benchmark DAX surged as much as 526 points, or 4.1 percent, to 13,358 after finishing marginally lower the previous day.
Hard-hit banks topped the gainers list, with Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank climbing 6 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.
Automakers BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen jumped 3-5 percent while Infineon added nearly 5 percent in the technology sector.
Adidas soared 7.6 percent after the sportswear firm forecast strong growth for the year.
Similarly, logistics company Deutsche Post jumped 7.2 percent after reporting a 65 percent increase in 2021 operating profit.
Market Analysis
DAX Rallies As Ukraine Drops Pitch For NATO Membership
2022-03-09 09:15:47
