German stocks are in negative territory Friday morning, extending recent weakness, amid rising fears of a global trade war following the U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs on auto and auto components imported into U.S., and his threat of more levies in the event of the EU attempting to retaliate with countermeasures.
The benchmark DAX, which dropped to 22,432.50 earlier in the session, was down 202.28 points or 0.89% at 22,461.50 a little while ago.
Commerzbank is declining nearly 4%. Rheinmetall and Deutsche Bank are down 3% and 2.7%, respectively. Volkswagen and Puma are up 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
Siemens, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens Energy, BMW, Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, Continental and Porsche are declining 1 to 1.7%.
Vonovia is rising more than 1.5%. Fresenius Medical Care is rising 1.3% and Sartorius is up 1.1%. E.ON, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens Healthineers and Merck are up with modest gains.
A closely watch survey from GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed German consumer sentiment is set to rise only marginally heading into April despite a revival in expectations regarding the economy after the new elections.
The forward-looking consumer climate index rose to -24.5 in April from -24.6 in March, the survey said.
On hopes of economic recovery, economic expectations improved noticeably in March. The index gained 5.7 points to 6.9 in March.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Germany edged up to 6.3% in March, the highest level since September 2020, compared to 6.2% in February.
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March 28, 2025 11:47 ET Revised growth data for the U.S. economy was the highlight of the week that also had some key reports from other major economies. The fourth quarter growth figures underwent revision in the latest report. Elsewhere, a survey revealed the U.S. consumers’ view on the economy. In mainland Europe, a survey in Germany revealed the business leaders’ assessment of the current situation and their hopes for the future. In other news, inflation data from the U.K. and Australia were in focus.