The DAX index has posted sharp gains in the Tuesday session. Currently, the DAX is at 12,715, up 1.33% on the day. On the release front, German and Eurozone manufacturing PMIs beat expectations, but services PMIs missed their forecasts. On Wednesday, German Ifo Business Climate is expected to dip to 101.6 points.
The EU and U.S have slapped tariffs on each other and a recent NATO summit exposed the frosty relations between President Trump and EU leaders. Still, there could be better news ahead, as EU President Jean-Paul Juckner meets with President Trump on Wednesday. If the talks show some progress, European equity markets could continue to move upwards. The DAX is up sharply on Tuesday, boosted by bank and automaker shares. Commerzbank has jumped 3.20%, Daimler is up 2.57%, BMW has climbed 2.07% and Volkswagen has risen 3.26%.
Eurozone and German manufacturing PMIs continue to point to expansion. The German release improved to 57.3, easily beating the estimate of 55.5, while the eurozone reading of 55.1 was above the forecast of 54.7. Both indicators had dropped over six consecutive months and the July releases put an end to that nasty streak. With the tariff war threatening to hurt German and eurozone exports, investors have been keeping a close eye on manufacturing data. Services PMIs were not as strong, as the German and eurozone releases missed their estimates.
