DAX Up Nearly 1.5% As U.S. Signals More Relief From Tariffs

(RTTNews) - German stocks are up firmly in positive territory Tuesday morning, led by gains in automobile sector on reports U.S. President Donald Trump is looking at modifying the 25% tariffs imposed on foreign auto and auto parts imports from Mexico, Canada and other countries.

The report, coming close on the heels of a decision to exempt electronic products from tariffs, has significantly eased concerns about new levies by the U.S.

The benchmark DAX was up 303.55 points or 1.45% at 21,210.34 a little while ago. The index climbed to 21,290.70 earlier in the session, gaining more than 380 points.

Vonovia is rising about 3.5%. BMW, Rheinmetall, Continental, Zalando, Fresenius Medical Care, Henkel, Volkswagen, Daimler Truck Holding and Mercedes-Benz are gaining 2.5 to 3.1%.

Siemens Energy, Heidelberg Materials, Infineon Technologies, Porsche Automobil Holding, Fresenius, E.ON., Deutsche Bank, Hannover Rueck, Commerzbank and SAP are advancing 1 to 2.3%.

MTU Aero Engines and Adidas are down with modest losses.

On the economic front, data from Destatis showed Germany's wholesale price inflation weakened in March after accelerating in the previous month. Wholesale prices grew 1.3% year-on-year in March, following an increase of 1.6% in February, the data said.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices dropped for the first time in six months in March, easing by 0.2%, in contrast to the 0.6% increase in February.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany sank to -14 in April 2025, the lowest since July 2023, from 51.6 in March, and much worse than forecasts of 9.5. It marks the steepest drop in expectations since the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, the assessment of the current economic situation improved slightly to -81.2 from -87.6.

Data from Eurostat showed the industrial output in Eurozone grew at a faster pace in February driven by the rebound in production of capital and non-durable consumer goods.

Industrial output climbed 1.1% month-on-month in February, which was faster than the 0.6% growth logged in January and also better than economists' forecast of 0.1%.

On a yearly basis, industrial production advanced unexpectedly by 1.2%, in contrast to the 0.5% decline a month ago. Output was forecast to contract 0.8%.

Industrial production in the EU27 expanded 1% month-on-month in February, taking the annual growth to 0.6%.