The DAX 40 index was down by 8 points on Monday and closed at 15,952.8. At the end of the trading session, German stocks displayed a mixed performance, with the DAX index slightly declining by 0.05%.
The food and beverage, insurance, and software sectors posted gains, while the construction, retail, and media sectors faced losses.
The index was also pulled down by recent data indicating a larger-than-anticipated decline in German industrial production during March. This was mainly attributed to the underperformance of the automotive sector.
Major European markets displayed limited movement after the gains from Friday’s session. Along with the additional corporate earnings announcements, investors are eagerly awaiting the upcoming decision regarding a potential rate hike by the Bank of England, due on Thursday.
Among the other news, an Australian pension fund acquired a stake in the European network infrastructure company Vantage Towers AG (DE:VTWR). UniSuper agreed to acquire a 5% stake in Vantage Towers and is now placed alongside existing shareholders such as Vodafone Group (GB:VOD) (DE:VODI), KKR, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and activist investor Elliott Management.
Vantage Towers’ stock was down by 1.22% following the news. In November 2022, Vodafone sold 50% of its stake in Vantage to other shareholders and proposed the delisting of shares.
This deal serves as a recent indication that Australia’s expanding superannuation industry is seeking opportunities for growth beyond its domestic market.
Among the best performers, Commerzbank AG (DE:CBK) gained 1.5% yesterday. This was followed by the reinsurance company Hannover Rueck SE (DE:HNR1), which traded up by 1.41% on Monday.
Automobile company Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (DE:BMW) was up by 1.28%, continuing its streak from the last week. BMW stock has gained almost 7% in the last five days after reporting solid first-quarter earnings for 2023.
On the bottom side, Merck KGaA (DE:MRK) was the worst performer and posted a decline of 2.51%.
