DAX Edges Higher Amid Data Deluge

(RTTNews) - German stocks edged up slightly on Wednesday as investors digested the latest inflation and consumer confidence data.

More companies in Germany wanted to raise prices in the coming months, suggesting that the current easing trend in inflation is likely to stall, according to the results of a survey by the ifo institute.

The ifo price expectations rose to 19.7 points in December from 18.1 points in November. The reading indicates the percentage of companies that intend to increase prices on balance.

Meanwhile, Germany's producer prices declined for the fifth straight month in November due to cheaper energy costs, Destatis reported.

Producer prices dropped 7.9 percent year-over-year in November, slower than the 11.0 percent fall in October. Economists had expected a decline of 7.5 percent.

Germany's consumer sentiment is set to strengthen at the start of next year amid improvements in both income and economic expectations, and the willingness to buy, survey results from the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) showed.

The forward-looking GfK consumer confidence index rose to -25.1 from a revised -27.6 in December. Economists had forecast a reading of -27.0.

The benchmark DAX was up 24 points, or 0.2 percent, at 16,769 after rising 0.6 percent in the previous session.

Automakers BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen all rose about 1 percent.

Europe's new car registrations continued to expand in November but the pace of growth moderated, data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed.

Car registrations increased 6.7 percent year-on-year in November, slower than the 14.6 percent rise in October.

Copper producer Aurubis edged up slightly after confirming a sharp 34 percent fall in earnings in its 2022/23 fiscal year end September.

Deutsche Post declined 1.7 percent after U.S. peer FedEx cut its full-year revenue forecast.