DAX Pares Early Gains, Down Marginally On Weak Inflation Data

German stocks are down marginally Thursday morning, underperforming other major European markets, as investors make cautious moves while digesting the final data on the nation’s consumer price inflation.

The benchmark DAX, which advanced to 20,693.00 earlier in the session, was down 21.97 points or 0.11% at 20,593.90 a little while ago.

Final data from Destatis revealed the consumer price index rose 2.6% in December, faster than the 2.2% increase in November. The reading was in line with the flash data published on January 7.

The December inflation reading was the highest rate since January 2024, when prices had risen 2.9%.

Consumer prices rose 0.5% in December, revised upwardly from 0.4%.

The data showed EU-harmonized inflation held steady at 2.8% in December as the rate for November was revised upwardly from 2.4%.

Zalando is soaring nearly 16%. The online retailer of fashion and lifestyle products said it exceeded its adjusted EBIT guidance for the financial year 2024, driven by strong customer growth fuelled by marketing and better sell-through. Adjusted EBIT is expected to reach around 510 million euros, above the company’s current guidance of 440 million euros – 480 million euros, the company said.

According to preliminary figures, gross merchandise volume (GMV) in the financial year 2024 rose by 4.5% from a year earlier to 15.3 billion euros, revenue grew by 3.9% from a year earlier to 10.5 billion euros.

Rheinmetall is gaining about 3.2%. Porsche, Beiersdorf, Sartorius, Puma, Merck, Infineon, Commerzbank and Siemens Healthineers are up 0.7 to 1.5%.

HeidelbergCement and Vonovia are down 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Siemens Energy, Henkel, Brenntag, Deutsche Telekom and Siemens are down 0.5 to 1.1%.