Oil Surge Weighs On German Equities Before ECB Announcement
(RTTNews) - German stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday with investors digesting the nation's inflation data and awaiting the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement later in the day. Higher oil prices amid Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment.
Brent crude futures climbed to $102.72 a barrel before dropping to around $102.10, still up more than 0.8% over previous close.
The ECB is widely expected to raise key interest rates later today after pausing in July. The central bank President Christine Lagarde's comments and updated economic forecasts will be in focus.
The benchmark DAX was up 9.27 points or 0.04% at 25,563.55 nearly half an hour past noon.
Munich RE and Hannover RE climbed 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Commerzbank, Continental, Mercedes Benz, Fresenius Medical Care, Deutsche Boerse, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Bank and Allianz gained 0.5%-1%.
Porsche rose more than 1% after completing the sale of its stakes in Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group. BMW, Rheinmetall, RWE, MTU Aero Engines and E.ON moved up marginally.
Hochtief drifted down 3.4%. Adidas dropped about 2.7% and SAP eased by 2.4%. Zalando and Beiersdorf shed 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively. Scout24, Henkel, Daimler Truck Holding, Merck and Qiagen also showed weakness.
Data from Destatis showed Germany's consumer price inflation accelerated to a four-month high in August, rising 2.9% year-on-year, in line with estimates, after a 2.8% increase in July. The rise in energy prices, caused primarily by the war in Iran, was particularly noticeable in the case of motor fuel prices.
The EU harmonized inflation also rose to a four-month high of 2.9% from 2.8% in the previous month, as estimated.
On a monthly basis, EU harmonized CPI in Germany moved up 0.2% but slower than the 0.8% rise posted in July, confirming the flash data. Likewise, the harmonized index of consumer prices climbed 0.2%, following the prior month's 0.9% increase.
