DAX Down Over 0.5% Amid Trade Deals Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - German stocks are down in negative territory on Friday, weighed down by data showing a sharp drop in factory orders, and uncertainty over U.S. trade deals ahead of the July 9 deadline.

The EU, which is pushing for an agreement in principle ahead of July 9, has acknowledged that a comprehensive deal is unlikely to be reached by the deadline.

The U.S. and Vietnam have already struck deals. Also, the US and China have agreed to a truce.

The benchmark DAX, which dropped to 23,702.50 earlier in the session, was down 132.23 points or 0.55% at 23,769.70 a little while ago.

Siemens, Zalando, Vonovia, Volkswagen, Porsche, Deutsche Post, Brenntag, Symrise, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche Automobil Holding, BASF, Deutsche Bank, SAP and Heidelberg Materials are down 1 to 2%.

Rheinmetall is gaining about 2.3%. E.ON is advancing 0.6%, while Merck and Infineon Technologies are up marginally.

Data from Destatis showed Germany's factory orders declined more than expected in May as the sharp fall in domestic demand offset the rise in orders from non-euro area economies.

Factory orders decreased 1.4% from a month ago, Destatis reported. Orders were expected to drop 0.2% after an upwardly revised 1.6% rise in April. Excluding large-scale orders, manufacturing orders were 3.1% lower than in the previous month.

Survey data from S&P Global showed Germany's construction sector remained in the contraction territory in June due to the deterioration in housing activity.

The construction Purchasing Managers' Index posted 44.8 in June, up from 44.4 in May. It was the second-highest score in over two years behind April's recent high.